CHICAGO (WLS) — Two people were killed and another wounded in two separate expressway shootings in Chicago Wednesday, Illinois State Police said.
Authorities are working to figure out if road rage was possibly involved in one of the shootings.
Illinois State Police said the first shots were fired just after 2 a.m. on the Interstate 55 northbound ramp to southbound Interstate 94 at Halsted Street.
ISP said they responded to a single-car crash, and found one person fatally shot on the scene, in a maroon-colored minivan
The investigation snarled traffic for hours before troopers finally reopened the expressway just after 8:30 a.m. All inbound lanes on the Stevenson Expressway were shut down near the southbound Dan Ryan ramp.
At one point, a group of people could be seen near the investigation. It’s not clear how they are related to those involved in the shooting.
On the city’s Far South Side, state police investigated a possible road rage shooting near 95th Street and Stoney Island Avenue just after 2:30 a.m.
ISP said a tow truck driver stopped to assist after a two-car crash, before some sort of argument broke out, leading to gunfire.
A witness said some sort of brick or rock that fell into the roadway may have led to the violence.
“Everybody ran into it, and I guess another guy in an SUV ran into a truck. And he was mad, and he thought the tow truck people put the brick there. So, he got out of his car, and started shooting at them. So they started returning back their fire,” the witness said.
Authorities said one person died on scene, while another was rushed to University of Chicago Medical Center. The injured person’s condition is not known.
Traffic was flowing once again, as state police continue their investigations into the violence.
According to state police, over the last 12 months, there have been 101 shootings on interstates and expressways across Illinois, with the overwhelming majority taking place in Cook County.
The number represents a 52% decrease compared to the previous three years.
None of the victims have been identified.
Including those killed Wednesday, 12 people have been killed in expressway or interstate shootings over the last year in Illinois.
