Medical examiner’s office releases name of metro-east woman killed in crash

A 35-year-old East St. Louis woman died and a teenager was injured in a single-vehicle crash early Monday on Interstate 270 in north St. Louis, authorities said.

Sharika Ellison, of the 600 block of North 24th Street in East St. Louis, was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to Mike Tarticchio, chief investigator for the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A Missouri Highway Patrol crash report indicates a woman, who was later identified as Ellison, was driving a 2016 Chrysler 200 east on I-270 at the Lilac Avenue intersection at 5:35 a.m. when the car hit a guardrail and then a concrete barrier before coming to a rest.

A 13-year-old East St. Louis boy was a passenger in the car and had minor injuries, according to the crash report. He was taken to St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 4:18 PM.