A 37-year-old man died after rear-ending a semitrailer truck early Sunday on Interstate 57 near south suburban County Club Hills.
At 2:48 a.m., the driver of the truck, a 44-year-old Kentucky man, was traveling south in the far right lane of I-57 just north of Flossmoor Road when traffic slowed, according to Illinois State Police. After shifting into the far left lane of traffic, he came to a stop in front of the younger man’s 2013 Dodge.
The driver of the Dodge, Darnell L. Russel, then failed to slow down and crashed into the rear of the semitrailer, state police said. Russel, who lived in Richton Park, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office didn’t immediately confirm his death.
All southbound lanes of I-57 were diverted onto Interstate 80 as troopers investigated, state police said. The lanes were later reopened at 8 a.m.
Drugs or alcohol aren’t suspected to have been a factor in the crash, state police said.
