The Sangamon County Coroner, Jim Allmon, confirmed the deaths of two individuals involved in a motor vehicle collision on Interstate 55 early this morning.
The incident occurred in the southbound lane near the Chatham / East Lake Drive exit. A 42-year-old female resident of Wentzville, Missouri, and a 51-year-old female resident of Girard, Illinois, were pronounced deceased at the scene.
Autopsies are scheduled to take place today. The identities of the victims are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The deaths remain under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroner and the Illinois State Police.
Update: The Illinois State Police have provided preliminary details about the fatal crash. According to an ISP crash report, ISP Troop 6 responded to I-55 southbound at milepost 87.5, East Lake Shore Drive at approximately 1:02 a.m. for a two-unit crash involving a wrong way driver traveling northbound in the southbound lanes. The drivers of both vehicles were pronounced deceased on scene. A passenger was transported to an area hospital with injuries. I-55 southbound was shut down and reopened at approximately 6:07 a.m. No further information is available at this time.