Deputy Hospitalized After Crash Caused By Driver Blowing Stop Sign

WAUKEGAN, IL — A Lake County sheriff's deputy who was seriously injured Sunday when the driver of a pickup truck blew through a stop sign in Waukegan remained hospitalized Monday, authorities said.

Two sheriff's office squad cars were dispatched to a report of a road rage incident resulting in a battery shortly after 6 p.m., said Deputy Chief Chris Covelli.

The confrontation between motorists had initially taken place in Beach Park near the intersection of Green Bay and Wadworth roads. But one of the drivers fled to Lewis Avenue and Yorkhouse Road in Waukegan, followed by the other driver, according to Covelli.

The two squad cars both had their lights and sirens on as they headed south on Lewis Avenue when the driver of a Chevrolet pickup truck driving east on Edgewood Road reportedly ignored a stop sign and drove directly into the path of the deputies on the five-lane road, which has a 35 mph and no stop sign.

The first sheriff's deputy managed to swerve left into the northbound lanes of Lewis Avenue to avoid the stop sign scofflaw's pickup, but the second one was unable to get around it and struck the front driver's side of the Chevrolet.

The sheriff's deputy was injured in the crash and taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with serious injuries that were not life-threatening. She is a one-year veteran of the sheriff's office, Covelli said.

The driver of the pickup — a 59-year-old North Chicago man — was taken to Vista Medical Center in Waukegan with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The North Chicago man said the last thing he remembered before the crash was "opening a beer," according to the sheriff's office.

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“One of our sheriff’s deputies was seriously injured in a crash because a thoughtless individual felt it was more important to drink a beer while driving, putting everyone on the roadway at risk, instead of driving safe," Sheriff John Idleburg said in a statement.

Both drivers involved in the initial road rage incident decided not to press charges, according to Covelli. The incident was documented in a report and both parties were released.

Patch also requested information about any pending charges or citations for the driver of the pickup truck from a Waukegan police spokesperson. Any response received will be added here.

"We say it time and time again, don’t drink and drive," Idleburg said. "We are all wishing our deputy a speedy recovery.”