SUV Flips Into 2 Garages; Man Dies

An Oak Lawn man was killed and three others seriously injured Saturday when their vehicle crashed into a garage in southwest suburban Chicago Ridge.

Around 11 p.m., an SUV traveling south on Oak Park Avenue near 98th Street somehow lost control and crashed into a detached garage in the 6800 block of West 98th Street, according to Chicago Ridge Police Chief Tim Baldermann.

Images from the scene appeared to show that the SUV actually hit one home's garage, then flipped into a second garage attached to a home.

An occupant of the vehicle, 23-year-old Christopher Domagala, was killed in the crash, Baldermann said. Domagala, of the 9600 block of S. Cook Avenue, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Three others in the vehicle, including the driver, suffered very serious injuries in the crash, including internal bleeding, spinal and "severe" appendage injuries, Baldermann said. All of the injured were men in their early 20's. Two were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and one was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Baldermann said.

The garage was substantially damaged from the crash, but no one was injured in the garage.

Police believe speed played a role in the crash, and are investigating whether alcohol was involved as well.

Baldermann said investigators are still working to piece together how the crash occurred, and said the occupants of the vehicle were too seriously injured to speak with police as of Sunday morning.

Copyright CHIST - SunTimes
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