A roll-over collision between a tanker truck and a passenger car killed the driver of the car and shut down the intersection of Gougar Road and U.S. Highway 7 for nearly six hours early Thursday morning.
Police were withholding the name of the victim, a 29-year-old Hometown man, until his family is notified, Illinois State Police Sgt. Paul Smith said.
The truck driver, Andrew Caro, 30, of Country Club Hills, was unhurt, police said.
Caro was driving a tanker truck owned by Kaney Trucking of Flossmoor west on U.S. Highway 7 at 1:50 a.m. Thursday, police said, when a Buick Riviera going south on Gougar Road pulled out into the intersection.
Drivers going north and south have a stop sign on Gougar Road, but drivers going east and west on U.S. Highway 7 do not, police said.
The truck driver, who was not ticketed or charged, took evasive action but was unable to avoid striking the car on the driver’s side, police said.
The force of the impact pushed the car into a ditch on the side of the road.
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The truck swerved off the road and rolled over into the ditch, crushing the car.
The area of the accident is rural and sparsely populated, but a nearby group home for the disabled was evacuated because the truck was carrying 8,700 gallons of gasoline, Lockport Fire District Lt. Joseph Zanzola said.
The truck’s cargo was unloaded and the vehicle was pulled upright.
The intersection reopened shortly after 7:30 a.m., Zanzola said.