Canadian Man Dies in Crash Near Montrose

A Canadian man was fatally injured in a collision involving a semi and a pickup truck near Montrose.

The driver of the pickup truck, 65-year-old Ronald MacDonald of Walkerton, Ontario, was killed at approximately 4pm Friday. Illinois State Police were called to the scene of the crash and found MacDonald inside the pickup. The Effingham County Coroner's Office was called to the scene and MacDonald was pronounced dead at the scene. MacDonald was the only occupant of the vehicle.

Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes said MacDonald left Ontario at approximately 2am Friday and had driven for about 16 hours. Rhodes said it appears MacDonald fell asleep and the pickup truck struck the rear of the semi, which was disabled on the right shoulder of the interstate. The driver of the semi was waiting on a tow truck, and had all his reflective triangles in place. She said that weather was not a factor in the crash.

MacDonald was transported to the morgue at HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham, where the Coroner's office staff drew toxicology samples and requested MacDonald's medical records.

The investigation is continuing by the Coroner's Office and Illinois State Police. 

Agencies that assisted at the scene included Illinois State Police, Rural Med EMS, Teutopolis Fire Department, IDOT, Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction and Heartland Towing.

Rhodes said her office wanted to thank the first responders at the scene for their "dedication and efforts in battling heavy traffc and brutally cold weather."