Bridgeview police are trying to determine what caused the driver of a sedan traveling south on Harlem Avenue on Sunday afternoon to veer across the median and slam into a northbound van in a crash that killed the sedan’s driver and a passenger in his car.
The police are working with the South Suburban Major Accident Reconstruction Team, or SMART, on the investigation, Bridgeview Chief Walter Klimek said Monday.
Tire tracks were still visible Monday on the grassy median that separates the lanes in the 9700 block of Harlem.
Chicago residents Francis Iglinski, 80, of the 4500 block of Wallace Street, and Dolores Weber, 85, of the 2700 block of Emerald Avenue, were pronounced dead at the scene, Klimek said.
Iglinski was driving a 2007 Lincoln Town Car south on Harlem, Klimek said. The two friends were driving to a wake when the accident took place at 3:06 p.m Sunday, Klimek said family members told police.
Iglinski’s car crossed the lanes, hit the raised median and crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a Chrysler Town & Country van, Klimek said.
The van was driven by a 17-year-old and had five other youths inside. All six were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment on injuries not considered life-threatening and have been released, Klimek said.
Police do not know where the van was heading, he said. “The driver, according to the officers, did not have any recollection of the crash,” Klimek said.
“The Bridgeview Police and SMART continue their investigation in this traffic crash,” Klimek said, adding that conclusions are expected in two to three weeks.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office is scheduled to perform two autopsies today “to try to determine a cause of the crash,” Klimek said.
Iglinski’s driving record had no violations, KIimek said. Iglinski’s son is a Chicago police officer, the chief said.
