A woman who was stuck in her vehicle on I-55 while surrounded by live power lines during Monday night’s storms recalls the harrowing experience.
Jennifer Sternal told NBC Chicago she was stuck in her vehicle for nearly six hours after storms signaling a tornado swept through Will County.
As Sternal was driving home around 9 p.m. Monday, it became nearly impossible to see what lay ahead on I-55 when she encountered a downed power line that was live.
Sternal said she changed lanes to move behind a tractor-trailer and accidentally drove over power lines that were already in the roadway.
At that point, the semi-trailer in front of Sternal began to jackknife.
Sternal managed to stop her SUV before hitting the tractor-trailer, but she then found herself surrounded by live power lines inside her vehicle.
“I was very afraid that someone was going to get electrocuted by these things because they were on the ground, next to my car, behind it, in front of it,” Sternal said. “They could have easily hit them.”
First responders arrived minutes later, but it wasn’t until 3 a.m. Tuesday that Jennifer was allowed to get out of her car. Video captured by NBC Chicago’s Sky 5 shows her white SUV near a broken-down ALDI truck. The truck’s driver made sure the stranded drivers didn’t go hungry.
“They started throwing bread to the poor people across the street so they would have something while they waited,” she said.
Sternal said she felt lucky to have survived the storm.
“I was fortunate enough to go buy a lottery ticket. I feel very, very blessed and fortunate that nothing happened to me or anyone else,” Sternal said.
Sternal was eventually recovered and returned home safely, while her vehicle remained on I-55, which remains closed in Channahon in both directions.
