Cops: Bridgeview man killed in wreck, other driver went wrong way on I-80
By Brian Stanley bstanley@stmedianetwork.com March 2, 2013 9:42AM
Firefighters respond to the scene of a crash involving a wrong way driver heading west in the eastbound lanes of I-80 Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Morris. | Todd Sherman~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: April 4, 2013 6:53AM
GRUNDY COUNTY — A Bridgeview man was killed early Saturday in a three-vehicle crash reportedly caused by a car driving against traffic on Interstate 80.
At 12:05 a.m. state police reported a 1999 Dodge Caravan driving west in the eastbound lanes. The van struck a 2008 Toyota Yaris head-on between mile markers 106 and 107.
Grundy County Coroner John W. Callahan said “there was no evidence of braking on either vehicle.”
The car that had been going the wrong way ended up in the median, while the Yaris, driven by Abed M. Bader, 66, remained on the road and was hit again by a semi truck.
That impact shoved the car approximately 200 feet down the road before it also went onto the median, Callahan said.
Bader was pronounced dead at the scene. Callahan called the crash “violent.”
According to reports, Bader was returning home from delivering medications to a nursing home in Spring Valley.
The driver of the car that had been going the wrong way was taken to Morris Hospital with serious injuries, reports said. The truck driver was not injured.
State police said Saturday morning that any charges in the crash are pending investigation.
Bader’s son, Anees Bader, said Saturday that his father had a regular route delivering medicine to nursing homes and that he “was on his way home from his final stop” when the crash occurred.
“He’s been doing it for quite awhile,” Anees Bader said. He said he was uncertain how many nursing homes his father made deliveries to.
The family was waiting to learn more about why the crash occurred, and Bader said his father “is very familiar with the route.”
