Councilman Larry Hug Noticing Far More Serious Car Crashes In Joliet: 'It's Really Gotten Out of Hand'

JOLIET, IL —Joliet City Councilman Larry Hug, looking out for the well-being of the community, brought up a topic at this week's meeting that has not been debated at any previous meetings in recent memory.

"Is it just me? We'll see how many heads nod. I'm talking about people who are least 50 and older, 45 and older. Are we having a lot more traffic accidents? And I mean accidents between cars, cars rolling over on Essington Road, cars rolling over on Route 59," Hug remarked. "This is something that people say police can solve it. No, police can't solve it. They can come there after it happens, but they can't ... if we want to hire 1.7 million police officers, they can sit next to every person that drives through Joliet when they're driving.

"No," Hug insisted. "This is a societal shift. Is it just me or are people noticing that stuff in the recent two or three years? Man, people slow down. Rules of the Road, they do apply. And there are rules of the road for one reason, so that we don't rollover cars and T-bone another vehicle on Route 59 or go through the wall on I-55. There's rules of the road so that if you drive smart, you are not going to kill yourself or somebody else. It's really gotten out of hand. That's just my societal observations."

After Hug finished with his commentary, Councilwoman Jan Quillman offered her perspective on the topic.

"And just to answer part of that, some of those accidents were not the driver's fault," Quillman countered. "They were having a medical issue and then right away everyone goes, 'Oh, you're old, you're drunk, you're doing this, you're doing that but you don't get the rest of the story after you hear the accidents.

"But I know a couple of them were medical issues, unfortunately," Quillman explained.

Joliet Patch went back through our recent archives and found stories referencing the following major crashes:

Aug. 4: A 30-year-old Coal City man was airlifted from the scene of a serious crash early Tuesday near Route 53 and West Compass Boulevard, Joliet police said. According to police, a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by a 53-year-old Joliet woman was heading east on West Compass Boulevard just before 7 a.m. and attempting to turn left on Route 53 when it collided with the motorcycle.

July 23: A Joliet motorcyclist in his 40s and his female passenger in her 40s were both airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center on a Wednesday night after they were traveling along Caton Farm Road when a car turned in front of them at the West Frontage Road, according to Joliet police.

July 21: A Joliet 16-year-old is accused of fleeing in a stolen Kia and causing several crashes that left one senior citizen seriously hurt, police said. A juvenile girl who was in the stolen vehicle also suffered life-threatening injuries, and another girl who was in the Kia suffered serious injuries, according to police. Joliet police said the teen boy had a stolen Kia Rio in his possession, but rather than allow the police to capture him, he sped off and blew a red light before hitting a red Jeep at Black Road and Larkin Avenue. But it didn't stop there, according to police, who said the teenage boy kept driving, striking at least two other vehicles and leaving his passengers seriously hurt.

May 5: A 73-year-old Joliet woman died after suffering life-threatening injuries following a major four-vehicle crash at Black Road and Essington Road, Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English revealed. The Will County Coroner's Office identified the fatality victim as Marilyn Hertko.

April 10: The Shorewood Police Department is investigating its first traffic fatality of 2026 after an 18-year-old Joliet driver died in a wreck with another vehicle along Route 59. The Will County Coroner's Office announced the victim has been identified as 18-year-old Joliet resident Isaak Torres.

At approximately 10:15 p.m., the Shorewood Police Department and the Troy Fire Protection District responded to the two-vehicle traffic crash on Route 59 just north of Ridge Drive, according to Deputy Chief Jason Barten.

Feb. 21: The Joliet Police Department announced that an overnight crash at Route 6 and Houbolt Road ended the life of a 21-year-old passenger from Joliet. The Will County Coroner identified the victim as Jayden Norris. At 2:46 a.m., a Mercury Grand Marquis, driven by a 20-year-old Joliet man with the 21-year-old Joliet man as a passenger, was traveling eastbound on Channahon Road approaching Houbolt Road. Joliet police believe the Mercury disregarded a red traffic signal and struck a semi-tractor trailer driven by a 68-year-old Palos Park man that was traveling northbound on Houbolt Road through the intersection on a green traffic signal, according to witnesses.