Eisenhower Expressway

What happened on I-290? What we know after fatal accident closes lanes for hours

The incident occurred at approximately 4:19 a.m. in the outbound lanes of I-290 near 17th Avenue in suburban Maywood, the Illinois State Police said

I-290 lanes were closed for hours and traffic was at a standstill during the busy commute Monday morning after a pedestrian was struck and killed by an SUV on the Eisenhower Expressway overnight.

According to the Illinois State Police, the incident occurred at approximately 4:19 a.m. in the outbound lanes of I-290 near 17th Avenue in suburban Maywood.

At that time, an adult male in the roadway was struck by a vehicle, ISP said. After being struck, the man was sent into the inbound lanes, NBC 5's Lisa Chavarria reported.

By 5 a.m., traffic had been diverted in both directions, with major backups reported. In the outbound lanes, traffic was diverted at 9th Avenue, ISP said, with traffic in the inbound lanes diverted at 25th Avenue.

As of 5:30 a.m., inbound drive times on I-290 had reached upwards of 75 minutes, Chavarria reported, with traffic backing up "well past Wolf Road." On the outbound side, drive times were as high as 90 minutes.

As the morning went on, those travel times increased.

"If this is your route in, do not take the Eisenhower Expressway," Chavarria warned.

According to ISP, both the I-290 inbound and outbound lanes could remain closed through the morning commute as an investigation continued.

At 6:45 a.m., photo and videos from the scene showed heavily backed up traffic, with multiple state vehicles on the highway, as well as a badly damaged SUV with a broken windshield and heavily-dented hood.

As of 8:45 a.m., both the outbound and inbound lanes had reopened, ISP said.

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