The identities of the three Franklin residents killed in yesterday’s car crash on Illinois Route 104 are being released.
According to the Morgan County Coroner’s Office, 18-year old Alex Bloodgood, 38-year old Kristin Bloodgood, and 36-year old Anthony Paxton, all of Franklin, have been identified as the three individuals who suffered fatal injuries as a result of a two-vehicle accident just west Ranson Road yesterday.
Reports from Illinois State Police claim that Alex Bloodgood was traveling west on Illinois Route 104 in a Gray 2017 Ford Focus between approximately noon and 12:30 p.m., along with passengers Kristin Bloodgood and Paxton, approaching Ranson Road when the crash occurred.
Preliminary reports say that Alex Bloodgood, the driver of the 2017 Focus, crossed over the center line of traffic for unknown reasons approximately a half-mile west of Ranson Road. A second vehicle, a Gray 2005 GMC Envoy, driven by 19-year old Tiffany Peper, also of Franklin, was traveling east as it approached the same location. Seeing that Bloodgood’s vehicle had crossed over the center line into the opposite lane traffic, reports say that Peper appears to have crossed the center line as well in an attempt to avoid the oncoming Focus by passing it on the passenger side.
The two vehicles were unable to avoid contact, and struck one another on the front and passenger sides of each vehicle, creating a violent – and ultimately fatal – crash that forced Illinois State Police to shut down Route 104 for several hours. The driver of the 2017 Focus, Alex Bloodgood, as well as both passengers, Paxton and Kristin Bloodgood, were pronounced dead at the scene by officials with the Morgan County Coroner’s Office. As for Peper,the driver of the 2005 Envoy, she was airlifted by an AirEvac helicopter to Memorial Hospital in Springfield. State Police reports that everyone involved in the crash appeared to be wearing a seatbelt.
According to the Morgan County Coroner’s Office, Illinois State Police continue to investigate the incident.