Winter Weather in Cook, Illinois

Freezing drizzle and pockets of freezing rain developed during the early morning hours of January 24th across portions of northeast Illinois in the Chicago Metro area, which quickly led to icy conditions on roadways. Several hundred accidents were reported across the southern and western suburbs of the Chicago area. Several more vehicles spun off pavement into ditches. Numerous motorists abandoned their vehicles.

Three of the accidents resulted in fatalities. In Cook County, one person died in Tinley Park when a semi-tractor trailer came across the median and struck a car on LaGrange Road south of 175th Street. A second person was killed when a pick-up truck lost control onto the right shoulder and struck a semi-trailer on southbound Interstate 294 near Burr Ridge. In Kane County, a driver was killed in a crash involving three cars and a bus on Illinois Highway 31 north of Oak Street near North Aurora.

A 20 car pile up involving a semi occurred on Interstate 57 near 159th Street and was spread out over a quarter of a mile. A crash involving two semi trucks was reported on southbound Interstate 294 near Interstate 57. Numerous sections of Interstates and roadways were closed while accidents were cleared. In Hickory Hills, a car pulling into a gas station slid uncontrollably into a pump, knocking it onto another car, causing a small fire.