5 Family Members Hospitalized After 6-Vehicle Crash

HUNTLEY, IL – Five members of a Huntley family remain hospitalized following a six-vehicle crash in Springfield Sunday. The Knoll family was headed home from a baseball tournament when the collision occurred at about 5:34 p.m. on northbound Interstate 55 in Springfield, according to media reports and a GoFundMe page set up by a local resident for the family. The collision sent at least 10 people to the hospital, the Star Journal-Register reports.

The Sunday crash occurred when a semi tractor-trailer failed to stop and rear-ended a vehicle driven by a 47-year-old Huntley man, according to the Star Journal Register, which then hit two other vehicles and another semi. The first semi then swerved in an attempt to avoid hitting more vehicles and rear-ended a car.

Jody Knoll said her husband, Tim, suffered a shattered forearm and underwent surgery last night, and two of her children continued to receive treatment in the intensive care unit, according to theGoFundMe page. Her son, Trevor, remained in the ICU Tuesday but was more alert. His left hip was dislocated and he tore his right Achilles, according to the fund-raising page. Her daughter, Maddie, also remained in the ICU and was also more alert. She had nine staples put in the back of her head, had a small brain bleed and a bruise on her brain that was shrinking, Knoll said.

Knoll's daughter, Kylie, fractured her ankle and another daughter, Ashley, was doing great and all her scans came back good. Jody Knoll said was very bruised and sore and have a sprained wrist but was not admitted to the hospital after being taken to the emergency room.

"All things considered, we are OK," Jody Knoll wrote in an update Tuesday on the GoFundMe page. "I'm not sure if Tim and the kids quite understand yet what walking miracles we are."

Jody said the hospital staff opened up adjoining rooms in its pediatric Intensive Care Unit so all the Knoll children, even the ones not technically receiving ICU care, could be together.

"The hospital staff have been absolutely amazing," Jody Knoll wrote.

The GoFundMe page has raised over $18,000 for the Knoll family, which is meant to help provide them with food and other essentials when they are released from the hospital and return home.

More via the Star Journal-Register and GoFundMe

Photo credit: GoFundMe