Speeder Ends Up In River: Riverside Cops

RIVERSIDE, IL — A Countryside man speeding through Riverside last week ended up in the Des Plaines River and was sent to the hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, police said. Early Thursday evening, the 24-year-old was headed west in his pickup truck on Riverside Road at Olmstead when he left the road, struck a tree, continued across a residential property and parkland, and then drove into the river, according to a Riverside police news release.

After receiving several 911 calls, fire personnel entered the water and rescued the man from his nearly completely submerged truck, police said. The first officer arrived two minutes after the accident, the report said. Detectives were able to contact the driver's parents, and the man was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn. Rescuers looked for possible additional victims in the water, but could find none, police said.

The police account was verified through video and interviews with witnesses, the release said. Detectives went to the hospital to interview the driver, but he was in the intensive care unit and could not speak with them.

"I am extremely thankful that there were no adults or children walking in this area at the time, or this could have been a further tragedy," Police Chief Tom Weitzel said in a statement.

Police did not identify the man.