A major accident with injuries shut down a busy intersection of Arlington Heights during the rush hour Thursday morning, after a vehicle struck a bicyclist, police announced in a news release.
According to the Arlington Heights Police Department news release, at about 7:20 a.m. Thursday, police officers and fire department responders were dispatched to a traffic accident with injuries at the intersection of Lake Cook and North Wilke roads.
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Emergency responders found two vehicles on the southeast part of the intersection, the release states. As a result of the impact of the collision, one of the vehicles, a red 2011 Ford F550 landscaping truck with a trailer, went onto the curb and struck a bicyclist who was waiting to cross Lake Cook Road.
The pickup truck driver and his passenger were uninjured, officials said in the release. However, the bicyclist, a 43-year-old woman from unincorporated Arlington Heights, sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.
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Police said mid-morning Thursday that the bicyclist’s condition at the hospital was 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, authorities said in the release.
Based on preliminary information investigators received from witnesses and other physical evidence, the pickup truck driver was going eastbound on Lake Cook Road and was approaching North Wilke Road when the SUV driver made a left turn from westbound Lake Cook Road to head south on North Wilke, according to the release.
The vehicles collided in the intersection, authorities stated in the release.
The SUV was spun around and remained in the eastbound lanes of traffic, but the pickup truck went up on the curb and struck the bicyclist, according to the release.
In addition to local police, the Specialized Traffic Accident Reconstruction team associated with the northwest suburban Major Case Assistance Team was called to the scene. The Cook County Sheriff’s Department and Buffalo Grove Police Department also assisted Arlington Heights police with directing traffic around the accident scene, according to the release.
“[STAR] responded with a cadre of officers and related equipment to process evidence and supply technical accident investigation support,” officials said in the release.
After the collision, investigators checked out the traffic signals and estimated the speeds of the vehicles involved, authorities said in the release.
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“There was no evidence of impairment involved in the case,” according to the release.
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