Crash on I-70 Tuesday Slows Traffic Between Effingham and Altamont

Traffic was slowed considerably between Effingham and Altamont Tuesday afternoon due to a crash on Westbound I-70 near the rest area.

The crash happened at 3:11pm about three miles east of Altamont. A SUV pulling a U-Haul trailer was stopped on the shoulder with its trailer partially in the driving lane. A semi struck the trailer, then departed the roadway to the left, coming to rest in the median.

Both drivers, 60-year-old Anthony Jewett of Effingham, who was driving the SUV and trailer, and 37-year-old Joshua Dearden of Pratt, Kansas, the semi driver, were ticketed; Jewett for improper parking on the roadway, Dearden for improper passing of a disabled vehicle, also known as Scott's Law.

Reportedly, there was at least one person injured in the crash, but the report from Illinois State Police does not indicate who was injured.

One lane of westbound I-70 remained open most of the time that the crash was being investigated, but there were reports that vehicles at times were backed up as far as the I57/I70 split outside Effingham.