A pre-dawn run for two young men in Joliet ended in tragedy early Saturday when their car blew a red light and slammed into a semi, killing a 21-year-old passenger at a busy South Side intersection, authorities said.
The crash happened at Channahon Road and Houbolt Road, where the car slammed into a tractor-trailer and left the passenger dead at the scene. The driver, a 20-year-old Joliet man, was rushed to a hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening. Joliet police and the Will County Coroner's Office are investigating.
According to Joliet Patch, police spokesman Dwayne English said officers were called around 2:46 a.m. to the intersection of Channahon Road (Route 6) and Houbolt Road. The car was a Mercury Grand Marquis driven by the 20-year-old Joliet man, and witnesses told police the Mercury ran a red light before hitting a northbound tractor-trailer. The driver of the Mercury was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, while the 21-year-old passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, Patch reported.
ABC7 Chicago reported that the semi-truck was driven by a 68-year-old man from Palos Park, who was not injured. Authorities have not released the name of the person who died, as the Will County Coroner's Office works to confirm the victim's identity and manner of death. The intersection was shut down for several hours while crash investigators reconstructed the scene and tried to piece together exactly what led up to the collision.
Intersection Already On Officials' Radar
This stretch of road was already a concern for local officials before Saturday's fatal wreck. Will County and the Illinois Department of Transportation have been studying U.S. Route 6 in this corridor for safety and modernization needs, according to Will County.
A county crash heat map flagged the Houbolt Road and Route 6 crossing as a trouble spot, showing 172 crashes in the broader study area between 2019 and 2024, including two prior fatalities, Shaw Local reported. At a public meeting in December, engineers said any Route 6 improvements would be rolled out in phases and could include modernizing intersections, widening parts of the corridor and adding better pedestrian features.
Investigation Underway
Joliet police and the Will County Coroner's Office continue to investigate the crash, and the Coroner will determine the victim's identity and official manner of death, Joliet Patch reported. Investigators have asked anyone who may have dash-cam or surveillance footage from around the time of the crash to contact the Joliet Police Department Traffic Unit at (815) 724-3010.
The investigation remains active, and as of the initial reports, officials had not announced any charges.
