JEFFERSON CO., Ill. - An elderly North Carolina man died in a collision and ensuing fire at a rest area in Jefferson County Sunday.
Illinois State Police District 13 said that the incident occurred yesterday morning (June 12) at about 9:30 at the rest area off Interstate 64.
ISP said that the man from Knotts Island, North Carolina, age 75, and his female passenger, 74, neither of them being identified by ISP, were seen entering the rest area in a motor home at a high rate of speed, and were swerving on and off the roadway, striking several trees in the process.
On the parking lot, their vehicle continued on until it struck a parked pickup truck that was towing a trailer. Upon impact both vehicles burst into flames, becoming completely engulfed.
The pickup was occupied by Chandler, Indiana residents Patrick and Jacqueline Outler, both age 47. They were transported by ambulance to Crossroads Hospital in Mt. Vernon to be treated for minor injuries.
The elderly couple, however, did not fare so well: The gentleman was pronounced dead at the scene; his passenger was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon, but had to be airlifted to a St. Louis-area hospital with unspecified, but major, injuries. Her condition hadn’t been updated to media as of this morning. It's not been stated whether the gentleman died in the collision, the fire, or whether a medical condition had incapacitated him before either of those things happened and he was already deceased.
Both vehicles and the trailer the Outlers were towing were completely destroyed, and the cleanup and investigation closed the rest area for 10 hours; it reopened last night at about 8 p.m.
When we learn the identities of those North Carolina folks, we’ll update this post.