CHICAGO — A 29-year-old man driving a Volvo the wrong way on an expressway west of downtown early Sunday caused a fiery crash that left five people dead, including himself, state police said.
Authorities identified the driver as Frederick Sy, a Chicago man.
The accident closed all the lanes on Interstate 290 for nearly three hours, said Illinois State Trooper Ivan Bukaczyk.
“A man was driving a Volvo westbound in the eastbound lanes when he collided head-on with a BMW carrying four people,” Bukaczyk said. “The BMW then burst into flames — almost an explosion. It was also hit by a van that couldn’t stop in time.” The van driver reportedly escaped major injury, he said.
Bukaczyk said friends who were traveling in another vehicle told troopers the four in the BMW were members of a family from Mexico.
Some witnesses said the Volvo was traveling at nearly 100 mph, but Bukaczyk said investigators had not determined its speed.
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