Seven dead in wrong-way Illinois interstate crash

Seven people died in a crash in Illinois on Sunday when a driver traveling the wrong way on I-90 hit another car and caused both vehicles to be engulfed in flames, Illinois State Police said.

Authorities said the crash, which occurred at 2:11 a.m. on Sunday, killed the driver of the wrong-way car and one adult and five children passengers in the other car. 

Authorities said the crash occurred in the westbound lanes of I-90 near milepost 33 in McHenry County. The car was traveling the wrong direction for “unknown reasons,” authorities said.

State police identified the adult victims as 22-year-old Jennifer Fernandez, who was driving the wrong-way car, and 31-year-old Lauren Dobosz. They did not name the five children who died but said they were between the ages of 5 and 13.

Thomas Dobosz, a 32-year-old man who was driving the car traveling in the correct direction, sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to an area hospital, authorities said.

WGN News reported a neighbor of Thomas and Lauren Dobosz said the couple was married with four children and believed the fifth child was their oldest child’s friend.

Authorities temporarily closed the interstate’s westbound lanes near the crash but reopened the highway later on Sunday morning.