Sometime after 8:45 a.m., the Illinois State Police received a call regarding an accident that occurred on Illinois Highway 159. When troopers arrived at the scene, they discovered the wreckage of three vehicles. Five people occupied the vehicles involved in the car accident.
The preliminary report regarding the crash indicates that one of the vehicles was heading north on the highway, and the other two were heading south. For a reason that troopers have yet to discover, the 58-year-old woman driving the northbound car lost control of it. The car then veered into the southbound lane. It then hit the driver’s side of a vehicle driven by a 70-year-old man before it rammed head-on into the second southbound vehicle.
The two drivers of the vehicles that collided head-on both suffered injuries to which they succumbed at the scene. The driver of the third vehicle reportedly did not suffer any injuries. An 87-year-old woman who was a passenger in one of the vehicles suffered injuries serious enough to be airlifted from the scene. A 29-year-old passenger in the northbound vehicle was fortunate enough to only suffer minor injuries.
The Illinois State Police continue to determine the exact cause of the car accident. Meanwhile, the seriously injured woman and the family of the deceased driver may file civil actions against the estate of the northbound driver. Proving that her actions caused or contributed to the injuries suffered by the woman and the death of the other driver could result in an award of damages.
Source: fox2now.com, “Three-vehicle accident in rural St. Clair County leaves two dead“, Kevin S. Held, June 17, 2015