Seat belt saved man caught underneath semi on interstate, police say

A man was hospitalized Wednesday morning after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into a tractor-trailer in Effingham County.

Cole M. Lake, 27, from Salem was driving a 2009 Buick south on Interstate 57 near Mason when he fell asleep at about 7:20 a.m, Illinois State Police said in a press release.

Effingham Police said Lake was caught underneath the tractor-trailer but survived with minor injuries because he was wearing his seat belt.

“Tremendous proof that #seatbeltssavelives in the story of this Illinois motorist. Here is what the trooper on scene had to say; ‘if the driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, the driver would have been ripped out of the car and ran over, I am sure,’” police said in a Facebook post.

The tractor-trailer was driven by Florian Risilia, 48, from Chicago.

Lake was taken to St. Anthony Memorial Hospital for minor injuries and was released. He was issued a ticket for following too closely.

This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 1:09 PM.