5-year-old Belleville boy killed in Christmas Eve crash

A 5-year-old Belleville boy was killed in a crash on Christmas Eve in Will County.

Malcolm Townsel was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. Sunday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The single-vehicle crash happened at Channahon, in northern Illinois.

Four people — two children and two adults — were in a blue 2005 Dodge Durango SUV that crashed around 8:47 a.m, according to the Channahon Fire Protection Department. The other child, 3, was in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.

The vehicle was speeding when the driver lost control and the vehicle went into a ditch, struck a guardrail and pole and flipped, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The SUV was found overturned in a ditch along Interstate 55 just south of the Illinois 6 entrance, where the family was trapped inside, according to the fire department. One child had to be extricated from the car, which took about 35 minutes.

The adults, Jonathon Bridges, of Belleville, and Evett Hamilton, of Cicero, were taken to Morris Hospital and Presence St. Joseph’s Medical Center emergency rooms. Updates on their condition were not immediately available Wednesday morning.

Bridges, 42, was cited for driving too fast for conditions, the Joliet Herald-News reported. The cause of the crash was under investigation by Illinois State Police.

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 8:09 AM with the headline "5-year-old Belleville boy killed in Christmas Eve crash."