Palatine Police Finishing Investigation Into Fatal Crash

Palatine Police said their investigation into a fatal traffic incident at Northwest Highway and Benton Street should conclude next week.

On Saturday Nov. 5 Margaret Gibbons, 78, was struck by a vehicle at about 7 p.m. while she was crossing the intersection. The Palatine resident was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, but died five days later.

The Gibbons fatality was the second at the intersection in less than two years. Aida Guss, 73, was killed on Feb. 18, 2010 after being hit by a truck while attempting to cross the intersection at about 6 a.m. . The intersection is under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Palatine Police Cmdr. Craig Lesselyoung said the department's accident reconstruction team still was working on the case. He said a report should be completed sometime next week.

Lesselyoung said the 54-year-old driver of the Oldmobile Alero has not been cited in the incident.

Lesselyoung said aside from the actions of the driver of the Alero, the investigation will look at whether there are specific safety issues with the intersection itself such as poor lighting or poorly timed signalization.

The village will forward its findings to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Previously, Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said that any changes at the intersection would be up to IDOT.

“Once our investigation is done, we absolutely will be meeting with IDOT and sharing with them our suggestions; they would ultimately need to head any design or modification changes,” Ottesen said in the Nov. 10 Patch story. “Street lighting may be important to look at.”