Car rear-ends semi on Illinois 3 in Sauget during rush hour

Police are investigating a Sauget crash in which a passenger car plowed into the rear of a semi during the morning rush hour.

According to Sauget Police Chief James Jones, the crash happened at about 6:45 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Illinois 3 at Queeny Avenue.

The semi was stopped at the traffic signal when the car, a silver Honda sedan, ran into the back of it.

“We’re still investigating to determine how it happened,” Jones said when asked how the driver of the car failed to notice the stopped truck before the impact.

Jones didn’t have an estimate of how fast the car was going when it hit the truck. But the collision left the front end of the Honda severely smashed as emergency workers tried to extricate the male driver of the car.

Jones said the driver was in serious condition and was taken to an area hospital.

Traffic was jammed in the area in both directions for about 45 minutes while the driver was rescued and the crash debris was cleaned up.

Jones said the crash occurred in the southbound lanes of the road. At that time of day, there is heavy traffic in the area. But the vast majority of drivers at that time are headed north on their way to the Poplar Street Bridge on their way to work in St. Louis.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 7:59 AM with the headline "Car rear-ends semi on Illinois 3 in Sauget during rush hour."