Two critical after car crashes onto frozen lagoon in Lincoln Park

Two people were seriously hurt when a car crashed on top of a frozen lagoon early Monday near Lincoln Park Zoo. / photo from Network Video Productions

(CHICAGO) A car carrying two people veered off Lake Shore Drive and crashed on top of a frozen pond near Lincoln Park Zoo early Monday.

The crash happened about 1:45 a.m. as a black sedan traveling south in the 2200 block of Lake Shore Drive left the road and rolled onto a pond that was frozen rock-solid, police said.

The mangled vehicle never submerged and rolled over several times before it finally rested on its roof. Bumpers and other car parts littered the frozen pond as rescue workers secured the vehicle and removed the two people trapped inside.

A female was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital and a male was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said. Both were in serious-to-critical condition, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight said.

The car crashed near a portion of Lake Shore Drive with no guard rail. A police official at the scene said the guard rail was likely missing due to a previous crash and never replaced.

Had the pond not been frozen, the car would have submerged at the deeper end of the pond, an official at the scene said.

The police Major Accidents Investigation Unit was called to the scene.