Two drivers hospitalized in semi vs. Jeep crash in Kingston

KINGSTON – Two drivers suffered injuries and were hospitalized after a semi-trailer truck collided with a Jeep Thursday in Kingston, according the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan said five minors were in the Jeep also at the time of the crash. Paramedics took them to a nearby hospital as a precaution. One driver was airlifted to a Rockford hospital.

“The juveniles were transported for observation but no visible injuries on the scene,” Sullivan said. “The vehicle did have heavy front end damage, and the airbags did go off. Glad they didn’t appear to have any visible injuries.”

The driver of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 32-year-old woman from Belvidere, was taken by paramedics to Mercy Hospital in Rockford. Her injuries were not life-threatening, according to a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Authorities said the Jeep was headed south on Kingston Road, and had stopped at a stop sign at the intersection of Kingston and Cherry Valley roads. The Jeep pulled into the path of a 2012 Peterbilt semi-trailer truck, according to the news release.

Sullivan said the driver of the semi truck, a 33-year-old from Elgin, made efforts to avoid a more direct impact. The truck did not have a stop sign going west on Cherry Valley Road.

“The semi driver did try to avoid the crash, to try and avoid a full collision and ended up rolling the semi into the ditch and into the cornfield. So the driver of the semi truck ended up being airlifted from the scene by React Helicopter.”

Sullivan said the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the crash remains on going. Charges are pending and have not yet been announced Thursday.

Genoa-Kingston Fire Department and Kingston Police Department responded to the crash before Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene.