1 killed in fiery I-55 crash after semi plows into stopped traffic near Channahon

SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE - The driver of a semitrailer was killed Thursday in a fiery, chain-reaction crash involving multiple vehicles on Interstate 55 south of Channahon.

The crash happened about 5 p.m. as the semi driver approached backed-up traffic near a construction zone on northbound I-55 near Lorenzo Road at milepost 239.5, Illinois State Police said.

The semitrailer failed to stop and struck the rear of a pickup truck, state police said. The impact caused a chain-reaction crash involving another semitrailer and two other passenger vehicles. The two semis and one of the passenger vehicles burst into flames.

The driver of the semi that caused the crash was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.

Paramedics took the driver of the pickup truck to a hospital with serious injuries, state police said. The occupants of the other three vehicles were uninjured. None of the vehicles had passengers.

All northbound lanes of the interstate were shutdown for an investigation by state police. Traffic was rerouted to Route 129 in Wilmington.

The Will County coroner's office has not released details about the death.