Two people have died in an Illinois car crash caused by a man who drove his red Porsche the wrong way down an Illinois tollway. The man had allegedly been arrested for DUI twice in the past, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. Police are still trying to figure out why the man was driving recklessly and why there was U.S. currency flying out of the care before the accident.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the collision occurred near Lisle, Illinois on I-88, in between I-355 and Route 53, during the early evening on Saturday. The 43 year-old driver of the Porsche was heading east when he used an emergency vehicle turnaround to enter the westbound lanes, and continued to head east. Soon after, the Porsche collided with a 2004 Toyota Corolla carrying three people, killing two and placing one in critical condition.
Illinois State Police identified the two victims as a 37 year-old woman and her 74 year-old father. A 42 year-old passenger is in critical condition. The family was on their way to a mosque when the crash occurred, and other family members headed to the same destination were close enough to hear the collision and make an attempt to pull the victims from the wreckage.
The Chicago Tribune later reported that witnesses saw money flying out of the Porsche as it was driving down the road. One witness said that when she passed by the driver, she saw the man grab a handful of cash from his passenger seat and throw it out the window. She also saw multiple cars pull off to the shoulder of the road in what she assumed was an effort to pick up the ejected money.
The man’s previous DUI arrests were drug, not alcohol related, the Tribune article stated, although he was convicted in 2010 for transporting open alcohol containers after police found three empty beer cans in his car. The man had been a practicing dentist in Naperville, Illinois, but had quit around a year ago because he said he was losing money. On July 28 of this year, his mortgage company filed foreclosure documents on his Naperville, Illinois home.
No matter how many precautions you may take while driving, there are always factors beyond your control that can cause serious injury or death, such as the wrong way motorist in this accident.
It has not been reported if a Chicago injury lawyer is involved in this case yet or if a civil lawsuit has been filed.