One of the drivers in head-on crash in Riverside may have been using drugs

RIVERSIDE, Illinois - Riverside police suspect drugs may have played a role in a head-on collision last week in the western suburb.

Just after 9 p.m. Tuesday, officers responding to calls of a wrong-way driver were notified of a head-on crash at First Avenue and Waubansee Road, Riverside police said. There, they found a gray 2003 Dodge pickup truck that had crossed from the northbound lanes into southbound traffic and slammed into at least one other vehicle.

A 25-year-old man driving a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze was hospitalized with serious, but not life-threatening injuries, police said.

The driver of the Dodge, a 26-year-old Burbank man, declined medical treatment, police said. Officers "detected impairment and noticed certain markings on his body consistent with drug use," but a breathalyzer test showed no signs of alcohol in his system.

Officers did not arrest the man on the scene, but collected a urine sample to determine if he was under the influence of any drugs or prescription narcotics, police said.

Witnesses also told responding officers that they had been following the man’s vehicle for about five-to-seven minutes, and that he had been crossing into oncoming traffic the whole time, police said.

Results of the urine test are pending, police said.