WAYNE CO.—A Lawrence County man was killed after a single-vehicle traffic accident in Wayne County on March 21, and Illinois State Police are still working to discover what was going on that caused the wreck.
The accident occurred at approximately 4:45 p.m. on that Friday on the Illinois Route 161 Extension.
According to the preliminary traffic crash investigation, the driver of a 2007 Ford Mustang, Samuel L. Clark, 47, of St. Francisville, was westbound on the 161 Extension approximately 300 feet east of Wayne County Road 615 East when, for unknown reasons, he lost control of his vehicle and skidded off the roadway.
The vehicle struck a driveway culvert, which caused it to become airborne and roll.
Clark was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle.
As a result of the traffic crash, Clark was pronounced deceased at the scene by Wayne County Coroner Jimmy Taylor.
Multiple agencies were involved in the aftermath of the accident, including Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, Cisne Fire Department, Orchardville Fire Department and North Wayne Ambulance Service.
No information has been forwarded by any of the agencies working the wreck since the time it occurred. However, numerous reports originated out of Cisne (through which the 161 Extension runs east-west) on the evening that the accident occurred that Clark was traveling through that village at a very high rate of speed. Several Cisne residents advised that at one point, Clark “nearly took out” two vehicles, both of which pulling away from the street leading out from Cisne Middle School (two blocks off 161) where a track meet was letting out. At another point within the village limits, eyewitnesses said Clark nearly hit a car in the opposite lane head-on.
All estimates were that he was traveling at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour in his white Mustang, through speed limits that at their lowest are 30 mph in the village as 161 approaches the U.S. 45 curve to the north. Clark passed that curve staying on the 161 extension headed toward Johnsonville.
The area of travel might have indicated that Clark was on the way to Iuka, where his wife Theresa had moved last year, this following an incident on September 8, 2012 in their then-home in St. F that involved a discharge of a weapon.
At that time, there was a massive response by police and ambulance, but as it turned out, no one was arrested, and no one was injured. Police attempted to take away some 30 weapons; it’s uncertain whether that was accomplished.
However, Lawrence County Sheriff Russell Adams advised that on Sept. 11, 2012, while going to work at Lawrence Correctional outside of Sumner, Clark was met by ISP and placed under arrest for having a loaded weapon in his vehicle. He had to surrender his badge issued by the prison, where he worked as a guard, and later posted bond and released.
Then-prosecutor Lisa Wade declined to file any kind of formal charge in the matter, and nothing at all was done about it following the arrest.
About a year later, Theresa Clark, having at some point moved to Iuka (Marion County), filed for divorce. That case was pending when Clark was killed in the car crash. It may have been to Iuka that Clark was traveling at such a high rate of speed, as 161 through Wayne County goes right into Marion County, and Iuka Road is a north turn off 161 right across the county line.
Whatever the case, the death of Clark was a devastating blow to his family, especially given the events of the past couple of years.
The investigation into the accident and what lead up to it is ongoing and may or may not be resolved in the future, depending upon what evidence ISP can find.