Oak Lawn Father Of 5 Killed In Wrong Way Crash on I-55

Oak Lawn IL

23 August, 2021

2:24 AM

Description

OAK LAWN, IL — Three people were killed in a wrong-way crash early Friday morning on the Stevenson Expressway, including an Oak Lawn father of five. Around around 12:35 a.m., a Hyundai Sonata entered Interstate 55 at Central Avenue near Cicero traveling the wrong way in the southbound lane, Illinois State Police said. Police said the Hyundai was heading the wrong way when it crashed head-on with a Toyota RAV4. The drivers of both vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene. The wrong-way driver was identified 26-year-old Rella Ellisenory, police said. The man driving the RAV4 was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Khalid Jaber, 54, of Oak Lawn. The passenger has not been identified. Jaber was the father of five children and was considered "the backbone of his family," the family said in a statement to news media. "Khalid was unparalleled in his kindness and generosity to others," the statement read. "He went out of his way to help whomever he could. Always smiling happy. This is a devastating and earth-shattering loss to us all." All lanes of Interstate 55 southbound near Cicero were closed for the investigation and reopened at approximately 5:35 a.m.