A Lake County sheriff’s deputy was seriously injured when her squad car was hit by a pickup truck whose driver was opening a can of beer when he ran a stop sign in Waukegan, authorities said.
The deputy was responding to reports of a battery around 6:10 p.m. Sunday, her car’s emergency lights and sirens activated, when the truck ran the stop sign at Edgewood Road and Lewis Avenue, the sheriff’s office said.
The deputy was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center with serious injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the office said.
The driver of the truck, a 59-year-old man from North Chicago, was taken to Vista Medical Center in Waukegan, also with injuries not considered life-threatening, the office said.
“The driver of the pickup indicated the last thing he remembered before the crash was opening a beer,” the office said in a statement, adding that charges were pending.
“One of our sheriff’s deputies was seriously injured in a crash because a thoughtless individual felt it was more important to drink a beer while driving,” said Sheriff John D. Idleburg.
