2 Three-Vehicle Auto Accidents in Stephenson County in 3 Days

In metropolitan areas of Illinois like Chicago, motor vehicle collisions are all too common. But in more sparsely populated regions like Stephenson County, which sits on the Wisconsin border, it's relatively rare for a pair of serious auto accidents to occur within a three-day period - especially on the same stretch of roadway.

The first of these wrecks took place on Saturday night about 7:45pm outside of Ridott. According to Illinois State Police, a 24-year old Oak Park woman was driving a 2007 Chevy Malibu north on Rock City Road and ran a stop sign at the intersection of U.S. 20. As a result, a 1997 Honda Civic struck the Malibu's driver's side and became disabled in the roadway. The 24-year old Machesney Park female driver of the Civic took off her seat belt to tend to her six-year old daughter in the back seat. That's when a 2010 Volvo struck the Civic's driver's side, and the Machesney Park woman was ejected from the vehicle. She and her daughter were rushed to a nearby hospital, where the girl remains in critical condition. The driver and passenger in the Volvo were also transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Then on Monday morning around 8:15am, a fatal accident occurred on U.S. 20 outside of Lena. About a half mile west of Daimer Road, a 29-year old Glendale Heights man was driving a Honda Prelude westbound and tried to pass a vehicle in front of him. But he lost control on the icy road and slid into oncoming traffic, where he sideswiped a GMC Yukon heading east. The Yukon then slammed head-on into a Saturn traveling west behind the Honda. The 19-year old man from Hanover Park who was driving that Saturn was pronounced dead at the scene, while his 19-year old buddy from Bartlett was airlifted to a hospital in Rockford. The 43-year old Stockton woman driving the Yukon was treated at a hospital and released.

It appears that the 24-year old Oak Park woman and the 29-year old Glendale Heights man will be held liable for the consequences of their respective auto accidents. That means they could be named as defendants in personal injury lawsuits filed by the victims (while the man could also be targeted in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of the 19-year old man who died).