Marshall, IL : 5 injured, firefighter pickup damaged in I-70 crashes on Tuesday evening, March 14, 2017
Three motorists were injured and a Marshall Fire Department pickup truck was damaged in a three-vehicle crash during icy weather Tuesday evening on Interstate 70.
In addition, two motorists were injured in a single-vehicle rollover accident that occurred about a half hour earlier on the same section of I-70.
An Illinois State Police press release reported that the three-vehicle crash took place at approximately 7:45 p.m. on eastbound I-70 near milepost 153.
The accident occurred after a Marshall Fire Department brush truck, driven by William D. Brown of Marshall, stopped on the south shoulder to assist a motorist, Randy L. Aldridge of Jay, Fla., whose pickup truck had slid off the road and onto the shoulder.
As Brown was assisting Aldridge, traffic on I-70 was moving at a greatly reduced speed due to congestion caused by an unrelated earlier accident further west on the interstate.
State police reported that this situation was compounded by the fact that the pickup trucks of Brown and Aldridge were sitting on the opposite shoulder of I-70 from the vehicles in the unrelated accident and by a thin sheet of ice covering most of the interstate in that location.
As a passenger car driven by Trenaya N. Blackburn of Steubenville, Ohio, neared the two pickup trucks, her car went into an uncontrolled skid. This resulted in the car slightly colliding with Brown's pickup before sliding into Aldridge's pickup where it sat on the shoulder.
Blackburn, 25, and two of her passengers -- Sarah J. Blackburn, 45, and Nariah L.Jones, 19, both of Steubenville -- were taken to Union Hospital in Terre Haute, Ind., for treatment of injuries.
Aldridge's passenger, Ronald K. Chavers, 57, of Monticello, Miss., was treated at the accident scene. Blackburn was ticketed for failing to reduce speed and for operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
A state police press release reported that the unrelated earlier accident took place at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday on eastbound I-70 at milepost 152, five miles east of Marshall.
This accident occurred as a van driven by Gaston Munoz of Terre Haute, Ind., struck an icy bridge deck. The van skidded out of control and ran off of the roadway to the left. The van then struck the median and overturned several times before stopping in the median, facing eastbound.
Two of Munoz's passengers -- Francisco A. Reyes, 39, of Indianapolis and Gaston Munoz Jr., 24, of Terre Haute, Ind. -- were taken to Union Hospital for treatment of injuries. Munoz, 46, was ticketed for driving too fast for conditions and not having a valid driver's license.
Source :
5 injured, firefighter pickup damaged in I-70 crashes