WHAT: Two Unit Fatal Traffic Crash
WHERE: Interstate 57 southbound at milepost 188, Coles County
WHEN: June 27, 2021 at approximately 4:31 p.m.
VEHICLE: Unit 1 – 2001 Yellow Ford Mustang
Unit 2 – 2020 Gray Jeep Cherokee
DRIVER: Unit 1 – Mehdi Mourad, 21-year-old male from Mattoon, IL – Deceased
Unit 2 – Karen Smith, 54-year-old female from Centralia, IL – Transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
PASSENGER: Unit 2 – Juvenile, 12-year-old female from Centralia, IL – Transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
PRELIMINARY: Preliminary investigation indicates the following occurred: Unit 2 was stopped on the right shoulder of Interstate 57 southbound at approximately milepost 188 with their hazard lights activated due to severe weather in the area. The driver of Unit 1 was a firefighter responding in his personal vehicle to a crash on Interstate 57 at milepost 184. The driver of Unit 1 lost control of his vehicle and rear-ended Unit 2. The driver of Unit 1 was entrapped in his vehicle and had to be extricated. The driver of Unit 1 was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
CHARGES: N/A