Ill. Firefighter Killed in Car Accident

Chicago Tribune

June 05—A Chicago firefighter was among two people killed Sunday night on Interstate 57 in the south suburbs after a southbound vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle in the northbound lanes, according to the Illinois State Police.

The crash happened about 9:20 p.m. at 183rd Street in the Country Club Hills area near Interstate 80, state police said.

Brian Schofield, 55, worked in the Chicago Fire Department's fire prevention bureau, according to Larry Langford, a department spokesman. Schofield lived in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood.

A preliminary investigation revealed that a 2009 Hyundai sedan driven by Schofield was southbound when it collided in the northbound lanes with a 2005 Jeep, police said. After the collision, the Hyundai struck a guardrail at a high rate of speed and became engulfed in flames, police said.

Schofield and the driver of the Jeep were pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the other driver was unknown as of Monday morning, police said.

The drivers were not wearing seat belts, police said. There were no passengers in either vehicle.

The Cook County medical examiner's office said Schofield and the driver of the Jeep died from injuries suffered in the collision and determined the deaths to be an accident.

All northbound lanes were closed during the investigation and traffic was diverted onto Interstate 80. All lanes were reopened about 2:20 a.m.

The investigation is continuing.