Wilmington Man Dies In Latest I-55 Fatality Near Lorenzo Road

WILMINGTON, IL — For at least the third time so far this year, someone was killed along the dangerous travel stretch known as Interstate 55, south of Joliet. The latest death happened on Saturday morning, near the northbound stretch of I-55 near Lorenzo Road, an area that has encountered multiple fatalities in recent years.

The Illinois State Police said icy conditions had caused motorists to slow down prior to the fatal wreck. On Monday, two days after the crash, the Will County Coroner Laurie Summers identified the traffic fatality victim as 52-year-old Louis Savoia of Wilmington.

According to the Illinois State Police: at 8:22 a.m, state police responded to a crash involving two commercials and three passenger vehicles.

Preliminary information indicates traffic slowed and a truck tractor semi-trailer was unable to stop, causing a collision with the other vehicles involved. There is one confirmed fatality and one more person was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. No other injuries were reported.

The driver of the truck tractor that started this crash, Brandon J. Graham, a 27-year-old man from Ozark, Missouri, was cited by Illinois State Police for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash/too fast for conditions.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. the northbound lanes of Interstate 55 near Lorenzo were closed for the investigation; traffic was rerouted to Lorenzo Road and I-55 was reopened by mid-afternoon.