Whiteside County’s icy road conditions resulted in multiple crashes, one injury

STERLING – Icy road conditions Wednesday night led to multiple crashes in Whiteside County, Sterling Deputy Fire Chief David Northcutt told Shaw Local.

In total, departments responded to four crashes, two along Interstate 88 between Lyndon and Rock Falls, one at Prophet and Tampico roads southwest of Rock Falls, and one on Avenue G bridge south of Sterling.

Northcutt said the first call came in at 8:26 p.m. for a rollover crash at Prophet and Tampico roads, which is when “everything started.”

“It was a solid sheet of ice everywhere we went, and even the salt trucks were having troubles,” Northcutt said.

A crash that resulted in an injury occurred in the westbound lanes of Interstate 88 just before mile marker 36, which is near the Lincoln Road exit. It was a multiple-vehicle crash involving five semitrailers and two passenger vehicles, Northcutt said.

One person was taken to the hospital by ambulance with a knee injury, Northcutt said.

The other Interstate 88 crash also involved multiple vehicles and occurred at mile marker 33 close to where Yorktown Road crosses the interstate, Northcutt said.

During all of that, there was “a multiple-vehicle pile-up” on the Avenue G bridge over the Rock River between Rock Falls and Sterling, Northcutt said.

Multiple ambulances were brought in because of the possibility of multiple injuries, “but we ended up only transporting the one person,” Northcutt said.

The Rock Falls Fire Department, Sterling Fire Department and CGH EMS responded to all incidents. Also assisting were the Dixon City and Dixon Rural Fire Departments, the Amboy Fire Department, the Tampico Fire Department, Illinois State Police and Advance EMS.

Both Interstate 88 collisions are being handled by Illinois State Police.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued a winter weather advisory for Whiteside County along with several nearby counties in Illinois and Iowa.