At least seven people are dead, including five children, after a head-on car crash on I-90 in northern Illinois, state police said.
The crash involved a wrong-way driver, according to state troopers who responded to the scene just after 2 a.m. Sunday.
A van and a car hit one another head on, and both vehicles “became fully engulfed” by fire, state police said in a news release.
“There are seven confirmed fatalities at this time; one adult female and five children from the van and an adult female from the passenger vehicle,” the release said.
The crash was on I-90 westbound near milepost 33.5 in McHenry County, north of Chicago and near the Wisconsin border, authorities said.
At least one additional person was airlifted to a hospital for “severe injuries.”
Police will provide an update “once more information becomes available,” the release said.