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Another driver called 9-1-1 to report near miss with motorist going the wrong way down interstate

Driver says she prays on her daily commute

STERLING, Illinois - Minutes before a head-on crash on Interstate 88, a motorist called 9-1-1 to report a near-miss with a car headed the wrong way on the interstate.

"I noticed headlights coming straight for me. I thought, this can't be real," said Lisa Fox, of Port Byron.

Fox was en route to her job in Sterling just before 5 in the morning on Wednesday, when she saw the oncoming car headed her way near mile marker 19 near the Erie exit.

"By the grace of God, I got over in time and I'm here," she said.

Fox relayed the information to a 9-1-1 dispatcher, who told her to stay on the line.

"And she said, they would get to it as soon as they could, to get somebody on it. Obviously, someone wasn't close enough to get to it before an accident happened," she said.

About 9 miles and another exit later, police responded to a head-on crash. The driver going the wrong way has been identified as Dennis Farrell, 62, of Des Plaines. He will be charged with driving under the influence of drugs, possession of cannabis, possession of paraphernalia, failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, and improper lane usage. He was taken to a local hospital after the accident.

The driver who was hit, Jazmin Perez Salgado, 23, of Des Moines, refused treatment.

Fox says she is glad the other driver is okay. And says she will continue her daily commute routine, which is to pray.

"On my way to work, that's what I do. I pray for all the people in need. When the headlights were coming at me, I had been praying already for 20 minutes. I know my guardian angel  is looking out for me," she said.

 

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