Three people were injured in a four-vehicle chain reaction collision crash on Southbound I-57 that closed the southbound lanes at mile marker 124 eight miles north of the Salem exit for several hours.
Kinmundy-Alma Fire Chief Kevin Day says the crash apparently occurred when a semi-driver was not able to stop for traffic that had slowed in front of him from a prior crash. He initially hit a car that ran off the road into a fence along the interstate. Both had to be extricated by Kinmundy-Alma Firemen.
The truck then crashed into a semi in front of the car which then pushed the second truck into the third. The impact caused the sleeper and cab of the truck starting the chain reaction crash to be torn off to the side. The driver had to be extricated by firemen and was airlifted to a St. Louis Hospital for treatment. One of the two occupants of the car was airlifted to a Springfield hospital with the other occupant taken to Salem Township Hospital.
Traffic backed up for several miles on both southbound I-57 and Route 37 where traffic was detoured from Kinoka Road through Salem.
The previous crash occurred at mile marker 123 southbound seven miles north of Salem where a truck loaded with frozen lasagna flipped on its side and spilled its load after hitting the Martin Road overpass. The driver was helped outside his truck, with firemen providing a ladder to help get him to the ground. The driver was taken to Salem Township Hospital for treatment.
Day says none of those involved in the crashes were from the local area.
The first crash occurred at 6:50 Tuesday morning. The second followed at 11:07 am.
State Police are handling both crashes, but reports have not been released.
Frozen lasagna packages are strewn across the southbound lanes of I-57 near the Martin Road overpass north of Salem in the first of two crashes Tuesday morning.
The cab and sleeping compartment of a truck that started a four-vehicle chain-reaction crash is completely torn off with the driver trapped inside until freed by Kinmundy-Alma Firemen.
The car that was the first to be hit by a truck that couldn’t stop in time for traffic on I-57 north of Salem was shoved off the road to a fence at the edge of the Interstate property.
