Secondary crash near Lake Cook Road and Wilke Road kills bicyclist after first crash on Lake Cook Road involving a Ford F-550 landscaping truck and a Chevy Equinox sends truck over sidewalk. YouTube Tips ⓘ
A woman standing with her Schwinn bicycle and waiting to cross Lake Cook Road at Wilke Road was hit by a landscaping truck that had just been hit by a crossover SUV in a crash; the woman died from blunt force injuries that occurred early Thursday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Sylwia Wagner-Jarosz, age 45, of Arlington Heights, died at 12:58 p.m. at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge — about 5 hours and 38 minutes after she was hit by a truck and payload weighing over 3 tons.
A relative or friend arrived on the crash scene about an hour after the crash occurred. The woman, who was apparently on Sylwia’s workplace emergency contact information, told police that Sylwia’s workplace called and said she didn’t arrive at work Thursday morning. Sylwia Wagner-Jarosz worked as a kindergarten teacher and program creator at Long Grove Country School about one mile away. In a panicked voice, the woman explained to police that she arrived to see what the commotion was at Lake Cook Road and Wilke Road. She feared that Sylwia Wagner-Jarosz may have been involved in an accident at the location. The woman and Sylwia Wagner-Jarosz lived a few blocks from each other near the scene of the crash. The woman said something to police about Sylwia riding a bike to work as she walked toward the scene. With compassion, more police arrived to help the woman, and a police supervisor was called over to help obtain more information. A police officer told the woman that Sylwia wasn’t at the scene, and that she was transported to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Police compassionately explained they didn’t know her condition.
At the Long Grove Country School’s official website, a web page message from Sylwia Wagner-Jarosz states [translated by Google from Polish to English] … “The facility is located far from the hustle and bustle of the streets, where the sounds of horses, goats and ducks along with the laughter of children drown out the prevailing peace and quiet. The picturesque place is surrounded by lots of trees, flowers, a corn field and a pasture.”
Sylwia also wrote “When [she] was offered to create an original program for children from Polish-speaking families, my happiness reached its zenith. It is a great honor for me to nurture the Polish language and share my knowledge about Poland.”
The school is located on Old Hicks Road in Long Grove west of the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve and north of Lake Cook Road. There is a crosswalk at the traffic signal from the south side of Lake Cook Road to the north side of Lake Cook Road at Wilke Road that leads to the forest preserve and eventually to Long Grove Country School.
Police, firefighters and paramedics from Arlington Heights responded about 7:20 a.m., Thursday, September 29, 2022 to a report of a crash with injuries in Arlington Heights. The crash was initially described as a head-on collision, and then a crash with entrapment with multiple injuries.
Firefighters and paramedics from Buffalo Grove and Palatine were also assigned to the crash scene. When crews arrived, the first responders found a landscaping truck and a crossover SUV involved in a crash with a damaged bicycle and a bicyclist with life-threatening injuries underneath the truck on the southeast quadrant of the intersection.
According to police, as a result of the crash impact, a red 2011 Ford F-550 landscaping truck with a trailer, went over the curb at the southeast corner of the intersection, and struck a bicyclist waiting to cross Lake Cook Road. The driver of the 2011 Ford F-550 pickup and his passenger did not initially report any injuries in the crash. However, the bicyclist, a 45-year-old woman from unincorporated Arlington Heights, sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to Level 1 Trauma Center Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. At the time of the release from the Arlington Heights Police Department, the condition of the bicyclist had been unknown.
The driver of the second vehicle, a white 2019 Chevrolet Equinox, was transported by Palatine Fire Department paramedics to Northwest Community Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. She remained at Northwest Community Hospital, according to the Arlington Heights Police Department.
A passerby pedestrian, stopped at the scene and said that she had observed that same Chevy Equinox driven recklessly by a female driver in previous situations. She said a woman in a vehicle that looked like the crashed white vehicle had pulled out in front of other motorists on Lake Cook Road on a few occasions prior to the crash. She even confirmed that she believed the license plate matched the vehicle she had seen driven recklessly before, and the vehicle in the crash Thursday morning.
A police released explained that based on preliminary information gained from at-scene witnesses, as well as other physical evidence, the driver of the 2011 Ford F550 was traveling eastbound on Lake Cook Road approaching the intersection with North Wilke Road when the driver of the 2019 Chevrolet Equinox made a left turn from westbound Lake Cook Road to head south on Wilke Road. As the driver of the Equinox turned in front of the Ford truck, the vehicles collided in the intersection. The 2019 Chevrolet Equinox was spun around and remained in the eastbound lanes of traffic, while the 2011 Ford F550 departed the roadway to the southeast and struck the bicyclist.
MCAT-STAR, the Specialized Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) Team associated with the northwest suburban Major Case Assistance Team (MCAT), was activated. MCAT-STAR responded with a cadre of officers and necessary equipment to process evidence and supply technical accident investigation support. At the time of this release, the condition of the traffic signals, as well as the speeds of the colliding vehicles was still under investigation. There was no evidence of impairment involved in the case, according to the Arlington Heights Police Department. The Speed Limit on Lake Cook Road near the scene is 45 MPH.
Traffic Alert – The Cook County Sheriff’s Department and Buffalo Grove Police Department were assigned to assist the Arlington Heights Police Department with the control of traffic away from the crash scene. Motorists were encouraged to avoid Lake Cook Road between Route 53 and Arlington Heights Rd until normal road conditions resumed.
The information in this article is an early report published before any summary information was confirmed or released by police or fire authorities.
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