- A person was found dead inside an SUV surrounded by bullet shell casings on the Eisenhower Expressway, shutting down all lanes for nearly nine hours.
- A bomb squad was called to the scene, and federal agencies including the FBI, ATF, and DEA are now leading the investigation.
- More than 130,000 drivers use this stretch of highway on an average day — thousands were stuck in traffic for hours.
- Authorities have still not explained how the person died or why the SUV was being investigated.
BELLWOOD, Illinois — Drivers heading into Chicago on Thursday had no idea what was waiting for them on the Eisenhower Expressway. What looked like a stalled car turned into a nearly nine-hour shutdown — involving a dead body, dozens of shell casings, a bomb squad, and three federal agencies.
It was around 10 a.m. when Illinois State Police began investigating an SUV stopped in the outbound lanes of I-290 near the Westchester Boulevard overpass, where Bellwood meets Westchester.
What they found inside stopped everything.
One Person Dead, Shell Casings Everywhere
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that one person was found dead inside the SUV.
Bullet shell casings were scattered across the shoulder and several lanes of the expressway. Officers placed down dozens of evidence markers around the vehicle.
There were also reports of some kind of explosion connected to the SUV.
A police drone was seen hovering over the vehicle first. Officers kept their distance. Then a bomb squad arrived, examined the car, and only after that did officers move in closer — eventually placing a tarp over the driver’s side door.
Later, a white tent went up to cover the entire vehicle. Another car was parked in front to block off the view entirely.
FBI, ATF, and DEA All Showed Up
This was no ordinary traffic investigation.
The FBI and ATF took the lead, with the DEA providing support, according to a DEA spokesperson.
Illinois State Police offered almost nothing to the public, saying only that an “active incident” was taking place. No details were released about how the person died or why the SUV was under investigation in the first place.
The car was eventually towed away shortly before 6 p.m. All lanes of the Eisenhower reopened by 6:55 p.m.
Thousands of Drivers Stranded for Hours
More than 130,000 drivers use the Eisenhower near Mannheim Road on an average day.
On Thursday, thousands of them sat parked on the expressway for hours with no information and nowhere to go.
One driver, Untrail Boyd, got out of his truck and walked down toward the scene thinking it was a simple accident he could help clear.
“I see the officers have a shield right there — now this is more than an accident,” Boyd said.
He ended up stuck for about two and a half hours. His fiancée climbed over the median, crossed the grass on foot, and walked to a nearby Home Run Inn to get food.
Boyd posted a photo on social media — two pizzas on the hood of his truck, captioned “Lunch date 290.”
“I didn’t have no choice but to get a pizza. We didn’t eat nothing all day,” he said.
A Second Incident the Same Morning
To make Thursday even more chaotic, this was not the only disruption on the same stretch of road.
An unrelated rollover crash and oil spill had already shut down the westbound Eisenhower earlier that morning — before the dead body was even discovered.
As of Thursday night, the identity of the person found in the SUV has not been released. The cause of death remains unknown. Federal investigators have given no timeline for when answers will be made public.
What do you think happened inside that SUV? Share your thoughts in the comments — this story is still developing.
