In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning, July 6, 2025, Alejandro Fernandez—just 32 years old—lost his life in a violent, wrong-way crash involving four vehicles on the Edens Expressway near Tower Road in Glencoe, a tranquil northern suburb of Chicago. Fernandez’s identity was formally confirmed Monday by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, but the public mourning of his tragic and untimely death had already begun to take hold among those who saw in this incident yet another somber reminder of the growing crisis of wrong-way collisions on Illinois highways.
The crash, which unfolded at precisely 2:52 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Interstate 94, set off a chain of emergency responses and investigations that remain ongoing as of press time. According to early statements from the Illinois State Police, the collision involved at least four vehicles: a red Pontiac, a black Hyundai, a white Jeep, and a gray Tesla. Though the precise order of impact and the identities of all the involved parties have not yet been fully disclosed, authorities quickly confirmed that a wrong-way driver was at the center of the tragic sequence of events.
Alejandro Fernandez, who was fatally injured during the crash, was among the first victims confirmed dead in the immediate aftermath. Officials have not publicly released his hometown, family details, or additional biographical information, and no funeral arrangements have been made public. However, the facts surrounding his death—and the nature of the violent crash that claimed him—offer stark insight into a growing pattern of overnight highway fatalities and a road safety issue that continues to claim lives at an alarming pace.
The moment the call came in, emergency services converged on the scene. The crash was serious enough to bring the northbound lanes of the Edens Expressway to a halt, and traffic had to be diverted for several hours as investigators worked to determine what happened, while first responders tended to the wounded. Among those injured was a female passenger, whose identity and medical condition have not been publicly confirmed. She was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Authorities have not indicated whether she was traveling with Fernandez or in one of the other three vehicles.
The fact that four vehicles were involved—across the dark, fast-moving lanes of I-94—underscores the volatility and unpredictability of wrong-way collisions. In such incidents, the margin for avoidance is narrow. Vehicles traveling at interstate speeds have only seconds, sometimes less, to react when a car comes hurtling toward them in the opposite direction. Whether the initial point of impact occurred head-on or as a result of evasive swerving, secondary collisions in these scenarios are tragically common. This appears to be the case on Sunday morning.
So far, authorities have been tight-lipped about who was at fault, declining to name which of the four vehicles was traveling in the wrong direction, whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or what role—if any—speed and distracted driving may have played. That silence is not unusual in the early days of a high-fatality highway investigation. The Illinois State Police have launched what they call an “intensive” inquiry into the crash, urging anyone who may have witnessed the events unfold or who has relevant dashcam footage to step forward. Investigators are reviewing vehicle data, roadway surveillance footage, and forensic crash scene evidence to piece together how a routine early-morning drive turned into a fatal scene of twisted metal, shattered glass, and irreversible loss.
The location—Edens Expressway, also known as Interstate 94—has seen its share of severe traffic collisions, but wrong-way crashes are particularly rare and alarming. The freeway, which connects downtown Chicago to the North Shore suburbs, is a heavily trafficked corridor. In the early morning hours, lanes that are congested by day become darkened channels where a single error in orientation can yield deadly consequences. With fewer cars on the road between midnight and sunrise, wrong-way drivers may go unnoticed longer, making it even harder for law enforcement or other drivers to intervene in time. The crash near Tower Road is just one more entry in a growing logbook of such tragedies.
In recent years, Illinois has reported an uptick in wrong-way driving fatalities. Data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) show that the majority of such incidents occur between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.—when drivers are most likely to be fatigued, impaired, or disoriented. Nationwide, approximately 60% of wrong-way crashes are linked to alcohol impairment. But impairment is not the only factor: poor signage, outdated highway interchanges, lack of ramp lighting, and GPS navigation errors have all been cited as contributing elements in recent studies.
In the context of this particular crash, investigators will be exploring all these variables, and more. Was the entrance ramp onto the Edens Expressway properly marked? Was the wrong-way driver potentially confused by nearby construction or lane closures? Could road design have contributed in any way to a momentary lapse that turned fatal? The absence of immediate answers only deepens the urgency of the investigation.
Alejandro Fernandez’s death represents more than just a personal tragedy—it is a stark public safety failure, one that forces both authorities and citizens to confront uncomfortable questions about systemic vulnerabilities in our transportation infrastructure. His identity—publicly released only after an autopsy confirmed his cause of death—now joins a growing list of individuals lost to a hazard that traffic engineers, lawmakers, and public safety officials have been attempting to address for decades.
To date, solutions implemented by various state agencies include more prominent “Wrong Way” and “Do Not Enter” signage, the installation of LED warning systems at freeway off-ramps, and surveillance cameras that trigger alerts to state patrol units when a vehicle is detected going the wrong direction. Yet incidents persist, often clustered around weekends, holidays, and—most significantly—between the hours of midnight and dawn.
In many cases, the wrong-way driver dies in the crash they cause, making it difficult to determine motivation or mental state after the fact. If toxicology is involved, results may take weeks. And in cases like this one, where multiple vehicles are involved and the crash scene is chaotic, it can take even longer for a clear picture to emerge. The involvement of a Tesla—a vehicle known for its advanced onboard safety and navigation systems—adds another layer of complexity. Investigators will likely examine whether autonomous or assisted-driving features were enabled and how those systems responded, if at all, to the rapidly developing hazard.
Meanwhile, for Fernandez’s loved ones, the wait for answers is excruciating. While the medical examiner has confirmed his death, no details about his life—his family, his profession, his community ties—have been released. But the grief that accompanies a sudden death in such circumstances is universal and profound. Friends and family now must navigate the logistical and emotional burdens of funeral planning, possibly without the comfort of knowing exactly how or why their loved one was taken from them.
And for the Illinois State Police, this is another high-stakes investigation, one that will not only attempt to bring clarity to those personally affected, but that may also inform policy discussions at the state level about how to further prevent these deadly collisions. In Springfield, lawmakers have been grappling with legislation aimed at increasing penalties for wrong-way driving, particularly when it results in serious injury or death. Others advocate for greater funding to retrofit existing highway interchanges with better lighting, clearer signage, and real-time warning technology.
Still, none of those long-term policy goals can undo what happened at 2:52 a.m. on July 6. On that quiet stretch of I-94 near Tower Road, a normal Sunday morning became the endpoint for Alejandro Fernandez—a man whose story was violently interrupted in a way that is all too familiar to law enforcement officials, emergency responders, and transportation planners across the country.
Though we do not yet know what vehicle Fernandez was in—whether he was a passenger or driver, whether he saw the oncoming danger or had no time to react—his name now stands in testimony to the real cost of a systemic problem that continues to elude easy solutions. And until the full facts of the crash are made public, the public is left with only questions, grief, and a sobering awareness of just how quickly the open road can become a scene of devastating loss.
As Illinois State Police continue their painstaking reconstruction of the crash, they are asking the public for help. Witnesses may hold key information—whether visual accounts or dashcam footage—that could determine not only what happened, but how similar tragedies might be prevented in the future. In that respect, the investigation into Alejandro Fernandez’s death is not just about seeking accountability. It is about illumination. It is about justice. And, perhaps most urgently, it is about prevention.
In the coming days and weeks, as more details emerge—about the identity of the wrong-way driver, the exact sequence of events, and the condition of other passengers—the scope of this tragedy will come into fuller view. But already, the emotional and societal resonance is clear. One man, Alejandro Fernandez, is gone. A family is shattered. A community grieves. And a state once again confronts the sobering consequences of a momentary error that becomes irreversible in an instant.