Three injured in fiery semi crash on eastbound Tri-State Tollway

DEERFIELD (STMW) - A fiery crash involving a semi truck temporarily closed all eastbound lanes of the Tri-State Tollway and left three people injured Thursday afternoon near north suburban Deerfield.

The semi, a Buick SUV and a BMW X5 were all traveling eastbound on I-94 near Deerfield Road shortly before 1 p.m. when the Buick lost control and crossed in front of the semi, according to Illinois State Police.

The semi struck the driver’s side of the Buick and both vehicles collided with the concrete median wall, police said. The semi, which also struck the BMW at some point during the collision, then rolled over onto its passenger side and caught fire.

Before firefighters from the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District responded to the scene, an off-duty Chicago firefighter pulled a victim to safety, Deerfield-Bannockburn Deputy Fire Chief Ray Larson told reporters at the scene.

“I wasn’t there to see it, but if he’s there and he’s pulling someone to safety, I would say you’re in the right spot at the right time. Job well done, we appreciate your efforts and can’t thank you enough,” Larson said.

The 43-year-old man driving the Buick, the 58-year-old man driving the semi and a 57-year-old woman, who was the passenger in the semi, were all taken with non-life-threatening injuries to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, authorities said.

All eastbound lanes of the Tollway were temporarily closed to traffic after the crash, but everything was reopened by 6:20 p.m., police said.