CHICAGO (WLS) — Two people were killed Wednesday night in a horrific wrong-way crash in Chicago’s South End, officials said.
Seven vehicles were involved in the crash near the intersection of 87th and Cottage Grove in the Chatham neighborhood.
A black Dodge Charger was traveling north in the south lane of Cottage Grove at a “very high speed” around 5 p.m. before entering the intersection and hitting seven cars, said Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. The Charger then came to a stop in traffic, facing south, and immediately burst into flames, killing both occupants of the vehicle.
“This is a really bad accident,” Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. “I’ve seen many, many – and this is among the worst.”
Langford said the Charger allegedly triggered a chain reaction crash, according to witnesses at the scene.
On Thursday morning, police said eight people had been transported to hospitals, in fair to good condition. Police previously said 16 people were injured.
Three women, three men and two children, a 10-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, were taken to hospital with injuries.
The Dodge Charger was reported stolen in Markham earlier Wednesday, according to Brown. A “long rifle firearm type” was also discovered in the Charger, Brown added.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot stopped at the scene, urging people to slow down.
“It’s something we can control. Just ease off the throttle and obey local speed limits,” the mayor said.
Last year, there were about 150 traffic-related deaths in Chicago, Lightfoot said, adding that the city already had 100 so far this year.
“A lot of them are speed related,” Lightfoot said. “When you’re driving at such high speeds, anyone you hit, whether it’s a car or a pedestrian, dramatically diminishes their ability to survive,”
The Chicago Police Department’s Major Accidents Division is on the scene investigating the cause of the accident.
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