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College Students Run Off Highway by Rogue Driver

Pair suffers injuries after pickup rams them into semi on I-294

Two female college students feel lucky to be alive after they were run off the highway by an aggressive driver Tuesday.

The students, who asked only to be referred to as Dawn and Erica, say they were driving a minivan on east Interstate 294 in Hickory Hills at 12:30 p.m.

The pair were headed to the Valpraiso University campus to celebrate Dawn's 21st birthday when they noticed a Ford F-150 driving erratically behind them. Erica, who was driving, said she tried to give him room to pass.

"The next thing I knew, he came into my lane and pushed me into the semi on my right, and when I hit the semi and bounced off, I tried to correct the car, but I lost control and ended up on in the wall," Erica said.

Neither the driver of the semi nor the pickup stopped to help, but another driver did stop to aid the students and their dog, Lucy, who was also in the van.

"He took her and put her in the car so she wouldn't run into road. He followed us all the way to hospital," Erica said.

Both students suffered injuries from head to toe, requiring stitches. But they say the bruising is minimal compared to what could have happened.

"I was driving a minivan. No one knows who was in that car. It ended up being two college girls and a dog, but it could have been a mom and a baby, or a pregnant woman or a soccer team, but they left anyway. People could've easily died," Erica said.

The students say their doctor has given them both a clean bill of health, but they won't be allowed to go back to work for a couple of weeks.

The rogue driver has not been found.

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