Herod crash sends 4 to hospital

A head-on collision between a van and a coal truck resulted in injuries and road closure on Sunday night in Pope County.

The accident occurred on Route 34 near the Pope, Saline County line and resulted in one victim being air-lifted from the scene.

Information is still sketchy, but Pope County Sheriff Jerry Suits confirmed four people in the van required medical treatment. Suits said one victim was air-lifted from the scene, two victims were transported to Hardin County Hospital and a fourth was taken to Harrisburg Medical Center. Suits said that the road was closed to traffic for over five hours to allow responding units to evacuate the injured and clear wreckage and debris from the road.

Suits added that the Illinois State Police were the lead agency in the accident investigation and his department could not, at this time, release any information as to the identities of the people involved.

Illinois State Police at Ullin could not be reached for comment.