Wayne County, IL : Two-year-old killed in Southern Illinois wreck on Friday ,June 12th 2015

A single-vehicle accident on Interstate 64 in rural Wayne County, Ill. has claimed the life of a 2-year-old Virginia boy. The accident happened around 6 a.m. just west of the Fairfield, Ill. exit. The names of the driver and victim have not been released pending notification of relatives.

According to Deputy Wayne County Coroner Noel Edmison, the boy’s mother, from Richmond, Virginia, was traveling westbound at the 109 mile marker when she apparently fell asleep at the wheel. Her car ran off the road and overturned in a water-filled drainage ditch.

Authorities said the driver was able to break out a side window to escape, but could not reach her son. A member of the Fairfield Rural Fire Department entered the submerged car and pulled the boy from the wreckage. The child was taken to Fairfield Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The driver, not identified at this time, was taken to an area hospital for treatment of cuts to her hands and other injuries sustained the accident. Chris Wise of Fairfield, the fireman who pulled the toddler from the submerged car, was treated at Fairfield Memorial Hospital for treatment of cuts to his arm and was released.

Authorities said the two were traveling from Richmond Virginia to St. Louis. An autopsy is scheduled later this weekend. An Illinois State Police accident reconstruction officer is investigating the crash.


Source :
Two-year-old killed in Southern Illinois wreck