3 tollway workers hit, 1 fatally, on I-294 in Des Plaines

Three tollway workers were hit, one fatally, on I-294 in Des Plaines, Illinois, early Saturday morning. 

Illinois State police said the three tollway maintenance workers were repairing potholes in the southbound lanes near milepost 41.5 when a vehicle hit them. 

Police said the three workers were taken to local hospitals. One of the workers later died. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified him as 52-year-old Calvin Holley.

The conditions of the other two workers are unknown, but they were taken to the emergency room.

State police said all southbound lanes were shut down, and traffic was diverted at Golf Road. All lanes have since reopened.

ISP said the driver remained on the scene. 

Officials confirmed the worker killed in the crash was an equipment operator and laborer who had worked with the Illinois Tollway for the past two years. 

"The Illinois Tollway Board and all Tollway staff are devastated by the loss of one of our Illinois Tollway roadway maintenance workers," officials said in a written statement," Tollway officials said in a written statement. "Roadway workers, police officers and everyday motorists are too often hurt, injured or worse because drivers are not following the Move Over Law. The Tollway reminds everyone to slow down and change lanes safely when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights on the road." 

They're referring to Scott's Law—requiring drivers to move over one lane -or- slow down when passing a car that's stopped on the side of the road with flashing lights. According to the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, despite the law, 31 emergency responders were hit and killed on the side of the road last year. Forty-six were killed the year prior.

Longtime CBS News Chicago traffic reporter Kris Habermehl says, "Not only do you have the overhead message boards that say road work ahead, they'll start alerting sometimes six and a half to eight miles in advance."

He added, "Whether it's an emergency or it's planned road work, they have a lot of workers that are out there and big trucks that are parked upstream from where any potential conflict would be with their workers out in the street there, especially if they're doing patchwork overnight."

ISP has reported nine Scott's Law, also known as the Move Over Law, crashes in 2026. The Illinois Department of Transportation has reported eight crashes this year in "work zones."

The crash is under investigation.