VIDEO: Crash scene after driver totaled a BMW 528i by crashing into the rear end of a Freightliner box truck stopped at a stoplight on Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights.
Police and firefighter/paramedics from Arlington Heights responded about 12:54 p.m. Monday May 4, 2020 to a report of a crash with injuries on westbound Algonquin Road east of Arlington Heights Road. A witness at the scene said the driver was unconscious for 10 seconds or more. Good Samaritans helped the driver out of the car when he regained consciousness and before firefighter/paramedics arrived.
The truck driver refused paramedic transport, but was going for a checkup with an occupational health service.
Fresh tire skid marks about 90 feet long were visible in the westbound lanes that veered toward the position of the crash, but did not lead up all the way to the crash. If those were the skid marks from Monday’s crash, the BMW driver apparently tried to brake hard, but realized he wasn’t going to stop before hitting vehicles directly in front of him, and then released the brakes and veered to the left to get more space between his vehicle and the point of impact, or to avoid contact altogether in the left turn lane. The right front passenger area was crushed by the impact the left rear corner of the box truck. The intrusion of the box truck into the BMW 528i was about one-half the overall length of the BMW. If there had been a passenger in the front passenger seat, that passenger would likely have been killed or critically injured.
The driver of the Freightliner box truck was at a stop (also westbound) waiting for a stoplight to turn green.
The BMW 528i driver was charged with Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident. Initially it was unknown if any other charges were pending.
The left lanes of westbound Algonquin Road were reopened about 2:20 p.m. when a private commercial tow removed the box truck from the crash scene. The truck was drivable, but the company and driver wanted to inspect the vehicle fully before allowing it on the roads.
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