Web Extra! Updated 7/20/10
A 92-year-old North Riverside woman injured Friday when an 18-wheeler struck the car in which she was a passenger has died, according to Riverside police. The woman, identified as Vlasta J. Alfirevic, was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center on Friday afternoon, police said.
Police said it appeared the Chevy Impala, which was southbound on First Avenue, turned left at Forest Avenue in front of the truck without yielding. The truck driver, a 50-year-old St. Louis man, was not ticketed by police.
Witnesses, police said, indicated that the Impala, driven by Alfirevic’s 93-year-old husband, John, simply turned into the path of the truck, which swerved to avoid the car, but plowed into it, crushing the passenger side, front quarter panel.
The Impala struck a 2003 Ford Escort, damaging its left side. The female driver of the Ford was not injured in the crash, police said. The truck ended up driving off the roadway and into the forest preserve area on the east side of First Avenue, north of Forest Avenue.
The truck driver was treated at Loyola Hospital and released on Friday. John Alfirevic was also hospitalized and, according to police, remained there Monday. A hospital spokeswoman could provide no information on his condition.
This article has been corrected to reflect Mr. Alfirevic’s correct age.
