ROCKFORD, IL : Man involved in accident improving on April, Tuesday 11th 2017

A Rock Falls man’s condition is improving, 5 days after being involved a fatal crash in Sterling.

Michael L. Mulberry, 38, was in serious condition Tuesday at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, upgraded from critical condition the day before. The extent or type of his injuries has not been provided.

According to police, Mulberry was northbound on Griswold Avenue shortly after 3 p.m. Friday when he failed to stop at the stop sign at West LeFevre Road and was struck by an eastbound pickup truck driven by Michael J. Lee, 59, of Prophetstown.

Mulberry and his passenger, Dawn Nicole Trosclair, 34, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were taken to OSF, where she died around 4:30 a.m. Saturday.

Lee was treated at CGH Medical Center and released.

Trosclair’s preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma to the abdomen, Winnebago County Coroner Bill Hintz said Tuesday. Toxicology tests results are pending, he said.

Speed was a factor, and a blood test was done to see whether Mulberry was under the influence, Illinois State Police Lt. Chris Endress said.

If he is found to be at fault in the crash and under the influence, he could be charged with DUI involving death, which carries 3 to 7 years in prison.

Units were on scene almost immediately because Sterling police were in the neighborhood at the time of the crash, working on a criminal investigation with the Blackhawk Area Task Force and Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department, Endress said.

The ISP investigates fatal traffic accidents, but it can take several months for reconstructionists to complete their reports, so exactly how fast Mulberry might have been driving is not yet available. The speed limit in that neighborhood is 30 mph.

According to her family, Trosclair was living in Cedar Rapids at the time of her death, although Whiteside County Court records show that a warrant had been issued for her failure to appear in a misdemeanor retail theft case filed in November, in which her address was given as Sterling.

Among others, she is survived by a son, D’Aaron Nells, her parents, David and Ellen Trosclair, and three siblings. Her funeral is Thursday in Cedar Rapids, where Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Go to cedarmemorial.com for her complete obituary, or to send condolences.

A GoFundMe account has been established to help pay funeral expenses.

Source :
Man involved in accident improving