A woman driving a white sedan was killed late Sunday night after a black SUV barreled the wrong way into oncoming traffic on Chicago's South Side, slamming head-on into her vehicle near Oakwood Boulevard. Chicago police say the driver of the SUV was taken into custody and was not injured in the crash.
Chicago police said the SUV was traveling south in a northbound lane near Oakwood Boulevard at 11:21 p.m. Sunday, in the 4000 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive, as reported by CBS Chicago. The SUV struck the woman's white sedan head-on, and the collision also involved a black coupe in a chain reaction, per ABC7 Chicago. The woman was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition and later died there, according to police cited by the station. No other injuries were reported in connection with the crash.
Earlier Wrong-Way SUV Crash Near Navy Pier
A wrong-way SUV crash near Navy Pier on September 3 injured four people. The SUV was traveling north in southbound lanes. Sunday's crash involved an SUV traveling south in northbound lanes near Oakwood Boulevard. The crashes occurred less than four weeks apart.
The area around the crash scene is no stranger to traffic trouble. Development sites near Oakwood Boulevard, 39th Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive are adjacent to Bronzeville and Oakwood Beach, according to the City of Chicago. A multi-vehicle collision near that same northbound exit shut down traffic during morning rush hour in November 2025, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago. In the wake of Sunday's crash, CTA buses were rerouted in the area and all lanes remained blocked at Oakwood Boulevard, per the ABC7 report.
Investigators and the Road's Deadly Track Record
CPD's Major Accidents Investigation Unit is investigating the crash, ABC7 reported. Hoodline has previously detailed that the unit, which sits within the Bureau of Detectives, handles forensic crash reconstruction, speed analysis and fatal traffic investigations citywide, and coordinates with CPD's Family Liaison Office.
Sunday's death adds to a grim tally for the roadway. Chicago's own safety dashboard data through August 2025 recorded 61 traffic fatalities on DuSable Lake Shore Drive since April 2019, making it the city's deadliest roadway corridor, Hoodline has reported. Just eight days earlier, a 23-year-old pedestrian was fatally struck while attempting to cross the Drive's northbound lanes near the Gold Coast after climbing over the median barrier, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
What Charges Could Follow
It remains unclear what charges, if any, the arrested driver may face. Illinois law includes rules governing DUI.
Wrong-way crashes are a documented national problem beyond Chicago. Between 2014 and 2023, 4,164 fatal wrong-way crashes occurred on U.S. divided highways, resulting in 5,730 total fatalities nationwide, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Local safety advocates have frequently pointed to the Drive's expressway-style design through urban parkland as a central factor behind the corridor's mounting fatality count.
