Several Crashes Due to Icy Weather

Icy conditions south and west of Effingham Sunday resulted in several crashes.

 

A Teutopolis man was injured in a crash just after 7:30am Sunday on I-70 Westbound near the Brownstown/Bluff City interchange. 

A SUV driven by 56-year-old James Schumacher slid off the roadway into the center median, causing the vehicle to overturn onto its top.

Schumacher was injured and was taken to Fayette County Hospital in Vandalia. Three passengers...58-year-old Karen Schumacher, 30-year-old Jon Westendorf and 26-year-old Jolleen Westendorf, all of Teutopolis...were not reported injured.

No citations were issued.

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Two semis collided at 8:16am Sunday on I-70 Westbound, just east of the Mulberry Grove interchange.

A semi driven by 63-year-old Stephen Baxter of Indianapolis, IN was traveling at a slow speed due to severe weather and icing on the roadway and was rear-ended by a rig driven by 59-year-old Hugh Fine of Heiskell, TN. 

Baxter was injured and was taken to Fayette County Hospital in Vandalia. Fine was cited for driving too fast for conditions.

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Two semis and a pickup truck were involved in a crash at 6:48am on I-57 Northbound, two miles south of the Illinois 161 interchange at Centralia. 

A rig driven by 34-year-old Mohamed Ahmed of Columbus, Ohio observed traffic up ahead and attempted to slow. The rig jackknifed and came to rest in the middle of both northbound lanes. A pickup truck driven by 42-year-old Charles Yates of Plainview, Arkansas came to a stop on the right shoulder. The other semi, driven by 32-year-old Firooz Faseh of Houston, Texas, failed to reduce speed in time and struck both the jackknifed semi and the pickup truck.

Faseh and a passenger in Ahmed's rig, 34-year-old Mohammad Faqiri of Houston, Texas, were injured and were taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Centralia for treatment. Northbound I-57 was blocked in that area for much of Sunday morning. Charges are pending.

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A car struck a stopped Illinois State Police squad car at 4:52pm Sunday. 

The crash happened on I-57 Northbound in Jefferson County. 

The car driven by 47-year-old Richardo Accioly of Raytown, MO struck the stopped squad car, injuring the trooper, whose name has not been released. The trooper was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon.

Accioly was cited for failure to yield to a stationary emergency vehicle.