Published on June 15, 2025 7:44 pm
Last Updated on June 17, 2025 8:01 am
A head-on collision west of Effingham resulted in one death and four others injured Sunday afternoon.
The person killed was 58-year-old Harland J. Neville of Altamont.
Neville was eastbound on US Route 40 in a pickup truck when he crossed the center line in the “S” curves and struck a westbound minivan head-on. There were four members of a family in the minivan and all sustained various injuries. The driver of the minivan was Ashley Westendorf of Altamont. Three children in the minivan were transported to HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham, but have now been released from the hospital. All of the children were properly seat belted in the vehicle. Ashley Westendorf was airlifted to Carle Hospital in Urbana and remains hospitalized.
The crash occurred at approximately 4:18pm. The highway was closed until about 8pm.
The case remains under investigation by the Effingham County Coroner’s Office and the Illinois State Police.
Agencies that assisted at the scene were Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, Effingham City Police, Effingham Fire Department, Shumway Fire Protection District, Illinois State Police and Traffic Reconstruction Unit, Rural Med EMS, and IDOT.
