A trio of car accidents in Naperville have caused the tragic deaths of four people in the past month.
The latest heartbreaking accident, which happened just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10th, took the lives of a 77-year-old man and a 71-year-old woman who were out walking. Preliminary investigations reveal that the pair was crossing Hobson Road at the intersection of College Road, when they were struck by a 2017 black Toyota Tundra—driven by a 64-year-old Naperville woman– turning west onto Hobson from the northbound lane of Wehrli Road. The pedestrians, who were both Naperville residents, were transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. Sadly, the man died shortly after arrival; the woman succumbed to her injuries the next day.
Only a few days prior, another terrible accident was caused by a driver under the influence on Royce Road. At 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6th, a 54-year-old Naperville man driving west on Royce Road crossed over into the eastbound lane, according to a police investigation. The man’s 2014 Dodge Ram then proceeded to hit an eastbound 2017 Ford Fiesta head-on. Naperville Fire Department responded to the crash to provide emergency medical attention, but tragically, the driver of the Fiesta, a 41-year-old man from Woodridge, was declared dead on the scene. The police charged the driver of the Dodge Ram with Aggravated Driving Under the Influence and Reckless Homicide.
This is the second time in less than a month, where a vehicle traveling in the wrong lane has been involved in a fatal head-on crash in Naperville. According to a police investigation, at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 16th, a 64-year-old Bolingbrook woman driving a 2006 Hyundai struck another vehicle head-on while driving in the wrong lane. The woman was going northbound in the southbound lane of Naper Boulevard when she hit a 2015 Nissan driving southbound. The driver of the Nissan was a 61-year-old man from Lisle; his passenger was a 59-year-old woman, also from Lisle. All of the people involved in the accident sustained serious injuries and were transported from the scene. Tragically, one victim passed away from injuries sustained in the crash.
The Naperville police, who are investigating these crashes, have asked any witnesses to call them with information. As always, if you are the witness to a car accident, it is important to come forward. Your information may be critical to the investigation of that car crash. And please, drive carefully, don’t drive under the influence, and don’t let distractions keep you from staying safe on the road. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep tragedies like this from happening.
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