(WILMETTE) A man was fatally struck by a van on the Edens Expressway early Wednesday when his vehicle ran out of gas and he tried to run across the expressway in north suburban Wilmette, police said.
Officers were called about 12:45 a.m. to a call of a person struck by a vehicle in the northbound lanes of I-94 near Skokie Boulevard, according to Illinois State Police Sgt. Alexander Diaz.
Three other people who were in the man’s vehicle told investigators it ran out of gas and the man exited the vehicle and attempted to run across the expressway, Diaz said. The 19-year-old was then struck by a van.
He was taken to Evanston Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:18 a.m., Diaz said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office could not immediately confirm the fatality.
No one else was injured in the crash and no charges or citations have been filed against the driver of the van, Diaz said.
Northbound traffic was diverted off the expressway at Lake Avenue for about four hours after the crash, but all lanes were reopened about 4:30 a.m.
