A serious two-vehicle crash on southbound Interstate 55 just north of Dwight left two people injured and forced a lengthy closure of the highway Thursday afternoon. Illinois State Police shut down the southbound lanes and rerouted traffic while troopers worked the scene, warning drivers the disruption could stretch on for hours.
Illinois State Police confirmed they were investigating the crash, according to cedarnews.net. ISP Troop 3 responded to the scene near milepost 222 in Grundy County, the outlet reported. Two occupants were hurt in the crash and transported to local hospitals, per the same report, though the names, ages, and conditions of those injured have not been released.
WSPYnews.com was among the outlets to first report that two people were seriously injured in the crash. Details on how the collision occurred, what vehicles were involved, or any preliminary cause have not been made public.
Lanes Closed, Traffic Rerouted at Gardner Exit
With the southbound lanes of I-55 shut down near Dwight, troopers diverted traffic at the Gardner exit, near milepost 227, cedarnews.net reported. State police said the closure was expected to last several hours as crews worked to clear the scene and investigate. Motorists were urged to seek an alternate route and avoid the area entirely while the highway remained closed.
No word has emerged yet on an exact time the roadway reopened to southbound drivers. The crash adds to a string of serious wrecks that have struck this stretch of I-55 in Grundy County over the past couple of years, though it's unclear whether this incident shares any connection to those patterns.
Pattern of Serious Crashes Along the Corridor
This isn't the first time this section of I-55 has seen a major crash. In January 2024, a driver and passengers from a pickup and an SUV were taken to area hospitals with serious injuries after a collision in Grundy County, with traffic in both lanes reopening around 4 a.m. the following day, according to CBS Chicago. More recently, in December, a vehicle struck an Illinois Department of Transportation snowplow on northbound I-55 near Route 47 in Grundy County, as reported by WGN-TV.
The area has also seen crashes off the interstate itself. In March, two people — an adult and an infant — were injured in a single-vehicle rollover on Route 17 in rural Dwight, according to a separate WSPYnews.com report. No information has been released connecting Thursday's crash to any of those earlier incidents, and investigators have not said whether citations or charges are expected to result from this latest wreck.
Illinois State Police have not released additional details on the investigation's progress. Motorists traveling the I-55 corridor near Dwight should continue to watch for updates and follow any posted detours until authorities confirm the roadway has fully reopened.
