Police: Blame alcohol for crash on I-80 that killed 4

Police said alcohol was a contributing factor in a crash early Monday on Interstate 80 near Hazel Crest that left four people dead.

A 1996 Infiniti traveling east in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 hit a 1999 Ford wagon head-on just east of Kedzie Avenue about 2:20 a.m., causing both vehicles to burst into flames, Illinois State Police said.

The Infiniti had been traveling north on Interstate 294 and entered westbound I-80 before the crash, but soon made a U-turn and began traveling the wrong way, police said.

Eduardo Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, a passenger in the Infiniti, was the sole survivor of the accident. Police said he was in stable condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn Monday afternoon.

The driver, Gustavo Vargas, 29, of Berwyn; front passenger Jorge Pina, 27, of Chicago, and rear passenger Armando Ruiz, 29, of Berwyn, died, police said.

Jason Wepsiec, 35, of Joliet, the driver of the Ford, was also killed in the crash.

All of the passengers and drivers in Monday's accident were wearing seat belts, police said.

The crash forced the closure of westbound I-80 from Kedzie to the Tri-State Tollway until about 8:30 a.m.

Illinois State Police said Monday's crash marked the second wrong-way accident in a week in which alcohol was a contributing factor.