State police investigating Rockdale crash that left woman with life-threatening injuries

The Illinois State Police are investigating a crash in Rockdale involving a Will County Sheriff’s Office squad car and another vehicle that left a woman hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

About 9:30 p.m. Monday, troopers responded to a crash at Meadow Avenue and Morris Street, Illinois State Police Trooper Omoayena Williams said.

A preliminary investigation indicated a Ford Explorer was traveling south on Morris Street while a deputy squad car was heading west on Meadow Avenue, she said.

The driver of the Explorer, “for unknown reasons,” apparently failed to stop at the stop sign before entering the intersection, according to Williams. Morris Street has two stop signs on both sides of the intersection, while Meadow Avenue has none.

The front end of the deputy’s car struck the driver’s side door of the Explorer, she said.

Rockdale Police Chief Robert Dykstra said a woman was thrown from the Explorer, which rolled onto its side in the front yard of a residence.

Dykstra said the woman ended up under the vehicle and was flown to a hospital in Downers Grove, as she was unresponsive and in critical condition.

Dykstra said the woman was in the car with her husband and five children.

Williams said the woman was a front-seat passenger and that “there is no updated status on the passenger’s condition” as of Friday.

The Ford Explorer driver, the other occupants and the deputy were hospitalized for injuries that were not life-threatening, Williams said.