BEACH PARK, Ill. — A 5-year-old boy is dead and a toddler is in critical condition after a head-on crash in the northern suburbs.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, deputies reponded around 5 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a serious crash on Green Bay Road, just north of Hart Street in Beach Park.
Preliminary investigation revealed that a 24-year-old man from Waukegan, driving a Chevrolet Malibu, was traveling southbound on Green Bay Road and according to witnesses, was illegally passing other southbound vehicles by driving in the northbound lanes.
According to officials, two children were passengers inside the Chevrolet.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office reports that while traveling in the wrong lane, the Chevrolet collided head-on with a GMC Sierra in the northbound lanes, driven by a 57-year-old man of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
The 57-year-old man sustained serious injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The 24-year-old man also sustained serious injuries and required extrication from his vehicle by emergency crews. A 2-year-old boy, seated on the 24-year-old driver’s lap, was critically injured and transported to Lurie Children’s Hospital.
Before being transported to a hospital, the 24-year-old driver told deputies that no one else was in the Malibu. However, deputies later found a critically injured 5-year-old boy beneath debris behind the driver’s seat.
The 5-year-old was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officials said preliminary findings revealed that neither child was properly secured in a child safety seat at the time of the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
