On December 17, 2022, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the 12700 block of West Crescent Avenue in unincorporated Waukegan for a traffic crash with injuries.  Sheriff’s deputies arrived and found the driver, a 35-year-old man of North Chicago, ejected from the vehicle.

Preliminary investigation shows the man was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer at a high rate of speed eastbound on West Crescent Avenue.  As the driver approached Adelphi Avenue, he, for an unknown reason, crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic and drove into a ditch on the north side of the roadway.  The Chevrolet struck a utility pole, before coming to a rest on its side.  The driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle.  He was located approximately 30 feet from the Chevrolet.

The man was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.  Preliminary indications are the man will be paralyzed from the waist down.

Alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.