A Zion man may have suffered a medical emergency before his SUV struck four other vehicles, including a school bus, Tuesday morning in Beach Park, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
The man, 74, was brought to a hospital in critical condition following the crash, which occurred at about 8 a.m. near the Sheridan Road and Michigan Boulevard intersection.
Police said the man was headed north on Sheridan Road when his GMC SUV struck the activated stop arm of a school bus that was picking up students.
The vehicle then sideswiped a Ford Focus, sending the vehicle into a utility pole. The SUV then hit two more southbound vehicles, one being driven by a Winthrop Harbor man and the other by a Fox Lake woman.
There were only two students on the bus, and neither of them nor the driver was hurt. The children boarding the bus were also uninjured.
The Focus driver, a 49-year-old Beach Park man, and the Fox Lake woman suffered serious injuries, but they are not considered life-threatening, police said. The crash remains under investigation.