A car driven by a Centralia man was destroyed when it caught fire after it crashed and ran off Illinois Route 15 near Driver’s Lane west of Mt. Vernon late Saturday afternoon.
Jefferson Fire Protection District firemen say a car driven by Jerome Lilly of Cormick Street in Centralia sideswiped an SUV before running off the road into an area of tall grass. The vehicle apparently set the grass on fire which then spread to the car. The grass fire was put out before it caused any other damage.
Both Lilly and a passenger were able to get out of the car before the fire began. They escaped injury along with two O’Fallon residents who were in the SUV.
Reports on the crash are not yet available from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
The crash was reported at 3:48 Saturday afternoon.
A car ran off Route 15 following a late Saturday afternoon collision and was destroyed in a blaze that also started a grass fire. Jefferson Fire Protection District photo.
