A bad wreck in rural Manteno Oct. 4 that left three people critically injured and residents calling for a four-way stop, was caused when one of the drivers blew a stop sign.

According to a Kankakee County sheriff’s report released to the Daily Journal on Wednesday, the driver of the SUV drove into the intersection of Manteno-Deselm Road and right into a semi carrying supplies for the Unbridle pipeline.

The two people in the SUV were taken to Kankakee hospitals in critical condition. It took 90 minutes for firefighters to get the semi driver out of his overturned truck. He was flown to a suburban hospital.

All three survived, but it was the second brush with death at the intersection in the last five years involving drivers who disobeyed the stop sign or just didn’t see it. Currently, vehicles traveling east or west on Manteno Road have the right of way and those moving north or south on Deselm Road have a stop.

While last week’s report didn’t say why the driver drove through the stop sign a report from a 2010 crash indicated that another driver didn’t see it because she was eating a cheeseburger. Both crashes occurred during daylight hours. The scenario is hardly surprising to either local traffic planners or residents at the intersection who have requested a four-way stop for years.

“We have a lot more speeders and and a lot more distracted drivers than we used to have,” said Mike Lammey, Kankakee County transportation director and chairman of the county’s traffic safety committee. “How do you get somebody to obey a stop sign more than they did before?”

A third serious crash at the intersection in 2007 involved a driver who lost control on snow and ice while attempting a turn, according to police reports. But there are many less serious crashes which don’t register on official reports because the injuries aren’t critical.

“I see people all the time blowing the stop sign,” said Don Ashley, who has lived at the intersection since 1984 and said he has observed numerous crashes. “Whenever I see something like that it strikes me in the heart.”

Sunday’s crash was preceded on Saturday by a two-vehicle collision with victims who didn’t need medical treatment.

The Illinois State Police will be reconstructing the most recent crash to determine exactly what happened — including the speed the vehicles were traveling at the time. Kankakee County Highway Department officials have said they will consider studying the intersection a second time to determine if a four-way stop is needed. So far, that intersection hasn’t warranted one yet, they said.

The highway department had signs in place warning drivers of the advancing stop signs and others warning that cross traffic doesn’t stop.