2nd death in massive I-80 motorcycle wreck

A second biker involved in a massive chain-reaction motorcycle crash on Interstate 80 died, officials said.

John Melvin, 57, of Du Quoin died shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday at AMITA Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office.

Melvin was among a group of bikers heading west on Interstate 80 and approaching Interstate 55 about 10:15 a.m. Saturday when, for “unknown reasons,” eight of the motorcycles “crashed into each other,” police said.

Another biker, 45-year-old Chicago resident Edwin Torres, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, officials said.

Westbound I-80 was shut down for about five hours while the crash was investigated, police said.

Six other motorcyclists involved in the crash were hospitalized, two of whom suffered life-threatening injuries, according to a statement released Sunday morning by the Illinois State Police.

The six injured and two dead bikers were part of a larger party of motorcyclists who were traveling together, the state police said.