Tuesday, February 5, 2008 8:57 PM CST
Fog causes three collisions within minutes on Route 16
By DAVE FOPAY, ROB STROUD, & AMBER WILLIAMS, Staff Writers
editorial@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Thick fog contributed to three separate collisions within minutes Monday morning along Illinois Route 16 in front of Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.
Personnel from four police departments responded to the collisions and to slow down traffic on fog-shrouded Route 16, according to officer Stu Myers of the Charleston Police Department. None of the drivers reported being injured, he said.
Myers said the first collision occurred at approximately 9:25 a.m. when a westbound vehicle driven by Courtney J. Embry of Ashmore was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Harrison Read Jr., 504 Taft Ave., of Charleston. He said Embry’s vehicle was stopped at a red light at Route 16 and County Road 1050E near SBLHC.
The next two collisions occurred at 9:53 a.m. not long after Embry and Read pulled their vehicles onto 1050E, Myers said.
Myers said a westbound vehicle driven by Donald D. Groves, 2420 N. County Road 260E, was stopped at the same intersection when it was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Alyssa K. Hebeisen of Lake Zurich.
A westbound vehicle driven by William A. Cordell of Sullivan was slowing down at the accident scene when it was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Brandon L. Howard of Oakland, Myers said.
Both Read and Hebeisen reported the fog was so thick that they could not see the red light or the vehicles stopped in front of them, he said.
Personnel from Charleston, Mattoon and Eastern Illinois University police departments as well as the Coles County Sheriff’s Department helped clear the accident scenes and slow westbound traffic on Route 16 west of the Loxa Road.
“We had every officer we could get out there,” Myers said, adding it was some of the thickest fog he has seen on the job.
No flights were scheduled to arrive at or depart Monday from the nearby Coles County Memorial Airport Monday, but the fog probably would have prevented any that had been.
“This is about as bad as it gets,” airport Manager Andrew Fearn said of the foggy conditions. He said 200-foot visibility is required for landing on the airport’s main runway, and he didn’t think the fog would have allowed it.
Fearn also said he can monitor radio traffic from other airports in the state and didn’t hear any traffic communication from them as well.
“I think no one’s flying in the Midwest,” he said.
The wet and foggy conditions also caused an accident in Douglas County.
A vehicle driven by Brittney M. Allen, 19, of Tuscola was driving north on 1275E approaching U.S. Route 36 and was unable to stop at the stop sign because of the wet road at 8:05 a.m. Monday. Allen’s vehicle slid through the intersection of Route 36, across the ditch and into a field, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. Allen was not injured.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reported that almost a half-dozen accidents Monday morning and afternoon resulted from the thick fog.
The sheriff’s office said the five collisions, including a multiple vehicle crash on Route 16 west of Tower Hill, occurred across Shelby County, beginning mid-morning.
No serious injuries were reported, Shelby County officials said.
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