Red light crash at Arlington Heights Road and Olive Street Arlington Heights, Saturday, December 23, 2023. YouTube Tips ⓘ
Police, firefighters and paramedics from Arlington Heights responded about 11:52 a.m. Saturday, December 23, 2023 to a report of a crash with reported injuries at Arlngton Heights Road and Olive Street in Arlington Heights. Police arrived first, and discovered the driver of a silver pickup truck was unable to get out of his truck. Firefighters on arrival popped a door on the truck for a quick extrication job. Many of the firefighters were called in to staff reserve equipment because many firefighters were assigned to an extra alarm fire at the Mallard Cove Condominiums on South Old Wilke Road in Arlington Heights.
Police, firefighters and paramedics discovered two vehicles with moderate to heavy damage, and a traffic signal severed at the base and leaning on the pickup truck. The drivers of a silver Ford F-250 pickup truck and a red minivan were both assessed by paramedics, but decided against needing evaluation at the hospital.
The driver of the silver Ford F-250 pickup truck was northbound on Arlington Heights, and said he looked down because of spilled coffee or some difficulty with a coffee container in the truck, when he looked up again, he said it was too late for him to come to a complete stop to avoid the minivan. The direction of travel of the minivan information prior to the crash was not initially obtained by CARDINAL NEWS.
The Arlington Heights Publics Works Department was assigned to begin work to secure the traffic signal, and complete a temporary fix for the intersection. The silver pickup was not immediately towed away because the electric power to the traffic signal needed to be properly shut down.
School was not in session, but the crash being so close to a school is an emphatic lesson that children should be taught to always be prepared for a crash near a crosswalk to a busy street even if a crossing guard is protecting the intersection. Children should be taught to keep their eyes on traffic to be prepared to take evasive action away from traffic or away from a careening vehicle.
There have been two recent crashes — one in Grayslake, and one in Arlington Heights, when pedestrians have been killed by a secondary crash with a careening vehicle from the first crash in the intersection of a busy street …
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The information in this article is an early report published before any summary information was confirmed or released by police or fire authorities.
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