Antioch teen killed in crash on Tri-State during snowfall

Funeral services for an Antioch teenager who died following a six-car accident on the Tri-State Tollway are set for Thursday morning.

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Collins, 19, was officially pronounced dead at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville on Jan. 14 after succumbing to injuries she suffered in the accident near the Lake Forest Oasis during the first major snowfall of 2012, officials said.

Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Mark Pilgrim said the driver of a semitrailer was trying avoid a three-car accident in the northbound lanes of I-94 near Half Day Road at 12:52 p.m. on Jan. 12 when he slammed into Collins’ Jeep Liberty.

Pilgrim said the collision sent Collin’s Jeep into a Ford pickup truck that was parked on the shoulder of the highway, pinning the teen inside.

Collins was extracted and taken with life-threatening injuries to Condell, but died, Pilgrim said. Collins was an organ donor.

The accident is under investigation, Pilgrim said, and names are being withheld until it is completed and citations are issued.

Collin was described as a lifelong resident of Antioch, graduated from Antioch High School, and was attending the College of Lake County.

She was also a former gymnastics instructor at American Eagle Gymnastics in Round Lake Beach, before leaving the company earlier this year.

American Eagle owner Steve Caccione said Collins was a “very special person,” and the news of her death was tragic.

“People loved her,” he said. “Parents loved her, the kids loved her, we loved her. She was always smiling and just such a great person.”

Collin’s funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Peter Church, 557 Lake St., Antioch.