Driver Cited In 9-Vehicle Crash In South Loop

CHICAGO, IL — A driver has been cited after a multiple-vehicle crash in the South Loop Saturday killed a person and injured 11 others, police said. The driver, Scott Ganassin, 56, of Peru, Ill., had a medical emergency while driving, according to Illinois State Police. He has been cited with failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision.

The man who was killed has been identified as 35-year-old Chicago Chef Darius Sconiers. He was killed in the crash at Congress Parkway and Wells, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office and Illinois State Police.

The crash happened around 4:30 p.m. when a driver suffered a medical emergency and hit Sconier's Cadillac truck at a high speed, causing a chain reaction, police said. Sconiers had to be extricated.

Eleven people were injured and taken to area hospitals, six of whom were in critical condition, police said. Eleven others refused treatment at the scene.

According to NBC 5, Sconiers was a chef at some of the city's top restaurants, and was working as a chef for local celebrities when he died. He lived in the 3000 block of West Adams Street in Bellwood. His family said he began cooking at a young age.

“He had everybody in mind, his goals were your goals, he just need(ed) time to bring them to fruition,” his brother William Lockhart told NBC 5.

His family said he had a bright future ahead of him.

Image via Chicago Fire Department