East St. Louis man reported missing had been killed in single-car crash, police say

The family of an East St. Louis man believed to have gone missing learned Monday that he died in a single car crash.

According to Illinois State Police, James Montgomery, 65, ran his black 1994 Chevy Camaro off the road in Pontoon Beach on Oct. 27, two days before family said he had disappeared.

Troopers responded to a report of the crash shortly before 7 p.m. Tara Rick, spokesperson for the St. Louis Medical Examiner’s office said Montgomery was pronounced dead at St. Louis University Hospital at 12:21 a.m. on Oct. 28.

Montgomery was headed north on Sand Prairie Road, just south of Thekler Road, when his 1994 Chevy Camaro left the pavement, struck an embankment and rolled over multiple times, state police reported.

“The driver, a 65-year-old male from East St. Louis, was thrown from the vehicle,” a police press release reported. “The driver was transported to a regional hospital with life-threatening injuries and was later pronounced deceased at the hospital.”

Montgomery had recently retired after 40 years with the Washington Park Public Works Department. He also served as a commissioner with the East St. Louis Park District.

Friends and family described him as “a loner,” who mostly stayed close to home and kept a tight routine. Longtime friend Deb Moore said Montgomery was known to travel a regular route on Illinois 111 between Pontoon Beach, Caseyville and back to his East St. Louis home.

He was a regular at convenience stores, where he’d buy lottery game tickets two or three times each day and often win. He also was a regular at a Granite City meat market, they said.

“At least the family has closure,” said Demetra Kidd, Montgomery’s niece. “All of us, his family and friends, have been sick with worry. We knew he was not the kind of person to leave home and not tell someone and several days had gone by and he had not made contact.”

It was so unusual, Moore told a BND reporter over the weekend that she feared the worst.

Anthony Tarvin, who worked for two years in Washington Park with Montgomery, said he was shocked to learn of the crash.

“He was a great guy. He was always willing to do anything he could to make sure the village of Washington Park was clean,” Tarvin said. “He was a credit to the community because he was a hard worker. He served on boards and was always willing to do more. He worked with my grandson who is the chairman of the park board to help him bring the swimming pool into fruition at Lincoln Park.”

Moore also was shocked to learn Montgomery had died.

“I have no words. We lost a very good man,” she said. “To be able to call him a brother, uncle, friend, colleague was such a blessing. All of us are mourning but we all have joy because he loved and cared about all of us. People like him are rare. I pray his soul rests in peace.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 6:29 PM.