City Police Handle Two Crashes w/Injuries

Effingham city police handled two crashes with injuries heading into the weekend, both during the 3pm hour on Friday.

A vehicle driven by 19-year-old Nathaniel Followell of Altamont pulled into the path of, and was struck by, a vehicle driven by 16-year-old Anna Hakman of Mason. The crash happened on South Raney at Wernsing Avenue at the south end of the Raney Street overpass.

A passenger in Hakman's vehicle, 15-year-old Danielle Having of Effingham, was injured and was taken by ambulance to HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham.

Each driver was cited; Followell for failure to yield, and Hakman for violating her graduated driver's license for having more than one passenger in the vehicle.

That crash happened at 3:15pm; seven minutes later, another crash with injuries involved took place on the South Banker overpass headed northbound.

Police say a vehicle driven by 56-year-old Lyle Blickem of Teutopolis rear-ended a vehicle driven by 36-year-old Elizabeth Cochran of Watson, causing Cochran's vehicle to rear-end a vehicle driven by 26-year-old Dylan Pullam of Mason, causing Pullam's vehicle to rear-end a vehicle driven by 18-year-old Dydra Arnold of Neoga.

Blickem and a passenger in Cochran's vehicle, 12-year-old Lucas Cochran of Watson were injured, but both refused treatment.

Blickem was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid the crash.

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City police also handled a crash just before 1:30pm Friday under the Fayette Avenue underpass. A flatbed tow truck driven by 50-year-old Duane Kruger of Altamont was hauling a backhoe. As the truck proceeded under the underpass, the boom on the backhoe struck and damaged the underside of the underpass. The damage was not enough to harm the structural integrity of the underpass. No one was injured in the incident.