Two-vehicle accident closes section of Route 150
<span>CHESTER -- A two-vehicle accident on Route 150 near Paradise Road east of Chester resulted in injuries to three Chester residents.</span>
<span>According to the Illinois State Police, a 2011 Ford Escape, driven by 27-year-old Devon Wood, was traveling westbound on Route 150 near Paradise Road when "for an unknown reason," it veered into the eastbound lane and struck a 2001 Freightliner tractor-trailer head-on.</span>
<span>The tractor-trailer was driven by 46-year-old Eric. J. Montroy, also of Chester, who reportedly suffered minor injuries and was transported to Chester Memorial Hospital.</span>
<span>Wood's 3-year-old daughter, who was identified by friends of the Wood family as Darcie Wood, was in a car seat in the backseat of the Escape and was initially transported to Chester Memorial Hospital before being airlifted to a hospital St. Louis.</span>
<span>According to the Facebook page of Landmark Apostolic Church in Sparta, Darcie Wood suffered two broken legs, a cracked pelvis and a broken wrist.</span>
<span>Wood was airlifted from the scene to St. Louis University Hospital, where she later died due to injuries sustained in the accident. There were no updates on the condition of the truck driver.</span>
<span>After the collision, the Escape left the roadway and traveled down the embankment into a nearby field. Extraction was performed by the Chester Fire Department.</span>
<span>"This is Steeleville's territory, but Steeleville was busy with the accident in Percy and paged out Chester," said Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert, referencing the tractor-trailer versus train incident on Route 4 that happened an hour and 20 minutes prior to the Route 150 accident.</span>
<span>According to a witness at the scene, a vehicle traveling behind the Escape avoided the accident by driving through the ditch on the right side of the road.</span>
<span>That vehicle apparently continued on.</span>
<span>An ISP accident reconstruction team was called in to assist in the investigation, which resulted in Route 150 being closed at Route 4 on the east end and Chester Road at the west end for more than eight hours.</span>
<span>A news release from the ISP at 9:16 p.m. indicated Route 150, as well as the scene of the Route 4 crash, were back open. The Route 150 crash was reported at 1:15 p.m.</span>
<span>The accident is still under investigation and any charges are considered pending the investigation's results.</span>
<span>Members of the Steeleville Fire Department, Steeleville Police Department, Chester Police Department and Randolph County Sheriff's Office assisted in the investigation.</span>
Car vs. Semi
<span>Earlier Wednesday, a Grand Tower man was cited for operating an uninsured motor vehicle, failure to stop at a railroad crossing and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash after a collision at a railroad crossing on Route 4 north of Pyatt Cutler Road.</span>
<span>According to a news release by the Illinois State Police, a 1999 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by 27-year-old Orville L. Hobbs was southbound on Route 4 when it neared the crossing.</span>