At around noon last Thursday in Lake Bluff, Illinois, two tractor semi-trailers got into an accident that tied up traffic on Route 41 for several hours.
As reported in the Lake County Sun Times, the Illinois truck crash occurred on Route 41 north of Route 176. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said that a Volvo semi driven by 58-year-old Timothy Hendricks of Pearl, Missouri, was driving north on Route 41. Hendricks slowed down when the dump truck in front of him slowed to turn into a landscaping organization.
Howard Brichard, 44, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was driving the International semi behind Hendricks and was, according to witnesses, traveling fast. He switched lanes and tried to pass the truck in front of him, but deputies said he misjudged and ran into the rear trailer.
Witnesses to the accident say that one of the drivers was pinned inside his truck and had to be extricated, an operation that reportedly took nearly an hour. He was subsequently taken by ambulance to Lake Forest Hospital. The other driver was uninjured.
Brichard was charged with failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
Lake Bluff police closed all northbound lanes of Route 41 and rerouted traffic onto Route 176.
The staff and attorneys at the Gurnee office of Hupy and Abraham wish the injured driver a speedy recovery. We also want to remind our neighbors that there is a natural temptation to drive faster on Illinois highways as the ice and snow of winter recede. Avoid that temptation and travel at a safe and prudent speed for traffic conditions.