A Michigan woman is dead after a three-vehicle wreck on Interstate 57 that resulted in the road’s closure for most of Friday.
Carol Jean Gean, 72, of Harbor Springs, Mich., was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident by Williamson County Coroner Junior Burke.
The accident took place at approximately 11:12 a.m. on Friday in the southbound lane of I-57, just north of mile post 56, the Illinois State Police reports.
A Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by Gaganjot S. Virk, 28, of Bolingbrook was traveling south on I-57, followed directly behind by a 2015 Chevy Silverado pickup, driven by Robert L. Gean, 72, of Harbor Springs, Mich. Gean’s vehicle was directly followed by a 2007 International straight truck driven by Tab R. Barks, 49, of Cape Girardeau, Mo.
While Virk and Gean reduced speed due to traffic from an upcoming construction zone, Barks failed to reduce speed, striking Gean’s vehicle in the rear and pushing it into the rear of Virk’s tractor-trailer.
Robert Gean was flown to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Ind., for treatment of his injuries, while Barks was airlifted to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. Virk sustained minor injuries.
The wreck closed I-57 southbound from Johnston City to Marion. The closure was later stretched back to Benton. The road was opened back up to traffic around 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
The incident is currently under investigation by State Police, with the cause of the determined to be a failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, and following a vehicle too closely. Charges are pending, police said.
