Fatal vehicle pedestrian crash near Cook County Forest Preserve Trail near Oakton Community College
Des Plaines Police, Cook County Sheriff’s Deputies, and firefighter/paramedics from Des Plaines responded about 10:56 a.m. Sunday August 9, 2020 to a report of a vehicle crash with a pedestrian near the entrance to Oakton Community College. Initially neither the Golf Road entrance or the Central Road entrance were specified.
Police on arrival discovered a victim, apparently in cardiac arrest at the scene.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by firefighter/paramedics in communication with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. A second ambulance was dispatched to the scene, but details regarding the reason for the second ambulance were not initially available.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the fatal crash. The Speed Limit is posted 45 MPH for motorists traveling on Central Road. There is also a manual push button activation switch that can activate a traffic signal to stop traffic on Central Road for the trail crossing.
The victim was down just east of the area where the Des Plaines River Trail crosses Central Road, which is about half-way between the entrance to Oakton Community College and East River Road. A gray passenger car with a dent in the left side of the hood and a white van were stopped in the eastbound lane of Central Road, also just east of the Des Plaines River Trail crossing. There was initially no information regarding whether either of these vehicles hit the victim.
Central Road was closed between East River Road and
The area is clearly marked by yellow diamond warning signs to alert motorists that a bicycle and pedestrian crossing is up ahead. The Des Plaines River Trail is part of the developing Barrington-Wilmette Harbor Bikeway designed for improved access to Oakton Community College and the Des Plaines River Trail. According to the Northwest Municipal Conference, the bikeway is part of the Regional Bike Planning in the Northwest Suburbs by the Northwest Municipal Conference, working with member municipalities as well as other agencies, including the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Illinois Department of Transportation, Cook and Lake Counties, the Forest Preserves of Cook County and the City of Chicago to close the gaps in among 16 regional corridors.
In 2016, the Northwest Municipal Conference announced that their first “signed regional corridor” was nearing completion on Central Road in Des Plaines. An announcement in 2016 said the project, which starts at Wolf Road and terminates at East River Road, will provide much improved bicycle access to Oakton Community College and the Des Plaines River Trail. In 2020 the path remains interrupted in Cook County Forest Preserve property by railroad tracks that traverse north and south between Golf Road and Central Road with signs south and north of the railroad interruption warning that the trail ends because of an “Active Railway.” There is no information along the trail about the distance to the interruption caused by the active railway.
The information in this article is an early report published before any summary information was confirmed or released by police or fire authorities.
DEVELOPING IF CONTENT IS AVAILABLE …
Stay informed with news from The Cardinal’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies. Includes links to favorite public safety and emergency rescuers and product manufacturers and safety companies that have facebook pages. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on with fire, rescue, EMS and police photo galleries. Please add your public safety photo to the wall album — go direct to the Arlington Cardinal Emergencies Behind the Scenes photos. For a list of all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages, go to Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor