Friday night wreck closes Illinois 34

HARRISBURG - A Friday night wreck in the Rudement community south of Harrisburg shut down Illinois 34 for several hours, though no injuries were reported.

According to a report from Illinois State Police, a black 2011 Chevrolet vehicle was being driven on DeNeal Road toward the intersection with Illinois 34 at about 9:46 p.m.

According to the report, the vehicle missed the stop sign, striking a guard rail on the west side of the road, then continued traveling through the intersection with Illinois 34 and struck another guard rail on the south side of Illinois 34.

The vehicle continued several feet into a wooded area, where it finally came to rest.

Brady J. Choate, 27, of Harrisburg was listed in the report as the driver. Patrick R. Flick of Indianapolis and Christine L. Pitts of Harrisburg were listed as passengers.

The guard rail from the west side of DeNeal Road was left blocking both lanes of traffic, leading to another crash shortly after. A woman driving south on Illinois 34 said she could not see the guard rail until she was about to strike it with her vehicle. She suddenly stopped, and the truck behind her hit the rear of her vehicle.

There were no injuries reported at the time of the accident.

The Saline County Sheriff's Office, Harrisburg Fire Department and Illinois State Police responded to the scene. At some point, Flick and Pitts left the scene, leading deputies to begin a search of surrounding properties. They later were found near Stoneface Road a couple of miles away, according to Saline County Sheriff James "Whipper" Johnson.

According to the ISP report, Choate was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal transportation of alcohol, disobeying a stop sign and failure to wear a seat belt.

The report noted that all subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.