Two killed in I-55 crash after van was pushed off the road, police say

Two people were killed early Saturday morning when they were sideswiped and thrown from their vehicle during a crash in Montgomery County, police say.

Caleb Countryman, 21, of Springfield, sideswiped a van on Interstate 55, causing it to be pushed off the road, flip over and the driver and passenger to be ejected, according to Montgomery police.

Driver Luis Paulet, 49, and passenger Liz Alejo Mora de Paulet, 31, both of Carrollton, Texas, were pronounced dead on the scene when police arrived around 2:30 a.m.

Countryman was driving a 2007 Honda, and the Paulets were driving a 2003 Chevrolet van.

I-55 was closed for five and a half hours while Litchfield’s police and fire departments, Mt. Olive Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and Illinois State Police worked on scene.

This story was originally published August 26, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Two killed in I-55 crash after van was pushed off the road, police say."