Black Ice Caused Massive I-294 Chain-Reaction Crash Monday

Black ice caused the chain-reaction accident involving about 50 vehicles on the Tri-State Tollway Monday morning, snarling traffic for hours and sending 11 people to area hospitals.

Illinois State Police said the injuries were minor. The accident unfolded at about 10 a.m.

“Traffic was pretty stable and then suddenly there was a state trooper in front of me and he started coming to a stop and I saw cars behind me start to spin as well as cars in front of me start to spin,” Darius Pendleton told NBC Chicago. “I did avoid hitting that trooper but I ended up bouncing off of the semi which ran me into an SUV.”

Twenty cars, including a State Police cruiser, were towed.

The accident took place at the 18 mile marker close to the 95th Street exit near Oak Lawn and Hickory Hills. The accident stretched north to 75th Street in the southbound lanes of I-294. Lanes were blocked off for hours as emergency responders tended to the injured and the accident scene was cleared.

North Palos Fire Protection District and Roberts Park Fire District, along with ambulance crews from Oak Lawn, Burbank Bridgeview, Alsip and other departments, responded.

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