Fire official: Wrong-way driver crashes into car on Joliet bridge

A car traveling the wrong way on the Jefferson Street bridge in Joliet crashed head-on into another car, a fire department official said.

Shortly after 10:45 a.m. Friday, a passenger vehicle was heading westbound on the Jefferson Street bridge, which only allows for one-way eastbound traffic, according to Joliet Fire Battalion Chief Jim Blake.

The wrong-way driver apparently crashed into another car heading eastbound, Blake said. A pickup truck that was also heading east on the bridge then crashed into the rear end of the car that was initially struck, he said.

The drivers of both the car that was headed in the wrong direction and the first car that was hit were transported to an area hospital for injuries, Blake said.

Several ambulances and a fire truck were on the Jefferson Street bridge, which was blocked off by Joliet police squad cars.

Blake said Joliet Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene. A fire truck was on hand for additional manpower or in the event there was a fire or someone needed to be extracted from a vehicle, he said.