Here’s what happened in I-64 accident in East St. Louis that killed one, injured two
Illinois State Police have released details of their preliminary investigation of a crash Tuesday on Interstate 64 in East St. Louis that left one person dead and two injured.
Thailyn J. Brooks, 23, of Fairview Heights, who was a passenger in a car that struck an Illinois Department of Transportation dump truck, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:45 p.m. , according to St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr.
The drivers of the car and the truck were injured and taken to the hospital. The driver of the car, a 22-year-old man from Du Quoin, suffered life-threatening injuries, state police said. The driver of the truck, a 64-year-old man from Belleville, suffered non–life-threatening injuries, according to a release.
The accident happened shortly before 3 p.m.
Here’s the state police account of its preliminary investigation, according to a press release:
“Three Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) trucks were blocking traffic while workers were removing debris from the roadway on Interstate 64 westbound at Milepost 4.4 in St. Clair County. The first IDOT truck was parked on the right shoulder with an arrow board directing traffic to move to the left. The second IDOT truck was ahead of the first in the right lane, also with an arrow board. The third IDOT truck (Unit 2) was parked in the right lane ahead of the second. The passenger of Unit 2 was outside of the truck and picking up debris from the roadway. The driver of Unit 2 remained in the truck.
“Unit 1 (the car) was traveling in the right lane, approaching the IDOT trucks. Unit 1 traveled to the right shoulder just before reaching the second IDOT truck. While on the shoulder, Unit 1 struck a concrete wall. After it struck the wall, the passenger side of Unit 1 struck the rear of Unit 2.
“The passenger of Unit 1 was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver of Unit 1 was airlifted to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver of Unit 2 was Transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The IDOT worker outside of the truck was not injured. The roadway was opened up at approximately 7:45 p.m. The Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit (TCRU) is continuing the investigation.
“No further information will be disseminated at this time.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 9:38 AM.