State Police respond to two more crashes, one in Cass, another in Christian County

By Gary Scott on February 27, 2018 at 12:27pm

Two more car accidents occurred around central Illinois yesterday night, one of which turned out to be fatal.

It was a busy night for Illinois State Police District 9. As previously reported, State Troopers responded to a crash on East Morton Avenue near Mobil Road yesterday afternoon. Their night was far from over however, as two more crashes were reported – one out of Cass County involving potentially serious injuries, and the other out of Christian County that left one man dead.

Shortly before 6 p.m. yesterday, District 9 troopers responded to single-vehicle crash on US 67 near Kuhlman Road just east of the Illinois River between Meredosia and Beardstown in Cass County. Preliminary reports say a 47-year old Beardstown man was driving a Black 2004 Yamaha motorcycle northbound on US 67 when, for unknown reasons, the motorcycle ran off the right side of the roadway and overturned, ejecting the driver in the process. The driver was reportedly not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, and had to be transported to a local hospital by Life Flight, where he is being treated for his injuries.

Several hours later, District 9 troopers were dispatched to a crash in Christian County.

According to state police, the fatal two-vehicle crash occurred sometime before 10:30 p.m. on Illinois Route 16 just east of Rosamond. Crash investigation reports claim that a head-on collision occurred between a Red 2006 Ford F-350, driven by an unnamed 19-year old of Rosamond, and a Gray 2016 Jeep Patriot, driven by an unidentified 61-year old man from Nokomis.

Authorities say the Ford F-350 was reported to be traveling westbound on Route 16 before crossing over into eastbound traffic and striking the Jeep Patriot head-on. The driver of the Ford F-350 admitted to police that he had been on his phone at the time of the crash, and although it has yet to be officially confirmed,  police suspect that alcohol could’ve been involved.

The 61-year old driver of the Jeep Patriot was pronounced dead at the scene by Christian County Coroner Amy Winans.

State Police reports claim that the driver of the Ford F-350 was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, while the 61-year old Nokomis man was wearing his safety belt. The incident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police Zone 4 Investigations Unit.