THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Car Goes Airborne In Nasty Wreck
A crash at the beginning of the afternoon rush hour Wednesday in Elk Grove Village sent one car leaping skyward before landing upside down on the hood of another.
The collision near Nerge and Rohlwing roads sent several people to area hospitals, though there were no severe injuries.
Elk Grove Police said a Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling eastbound on Nerge approaching Rohlwing suddenly swerved into the left hand turn lane striking the rear of a Toyota Corolla already in the turn lane causing it to spin with great velocity. The Toyota then struck a Ford Windstar, also in the turn lane.
Police said the Jeep, still full of inertia, was then vaulted into the air landing upside down on the hood of the Toyota.
Ambulances transported the driver of the Jeep, Pamela Gerstmayr, 45, of Wood Dale, and the driver of the Ford, Leonor Granados, 41, of Hanover Park, and her two children to Alexian Brothers Hospital where all were treated for minor injuries and released.
Wieslawa Puchacz, 61, of Chicago, who was driving the Toyota, was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights where he was treated for minor injuries and released.
Police Traffic Division Cmdr. Chuck Walsh said the injuries might have been far more serious had the occupants of all the vehicles not been wearing seatbelts.
Walsh said the roadway was quickly cleared to make way for the evening rush.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Police investigators will return to the scene over the weekend to reconstruct the incident using sophisticated computer modeling equipment.