Centralia Police say six people were injured when a garbage truck rear-ended an SUV in downtown Centralia Tuesday morning.
Initial reports indicate the Republic trash truck driven by 54-year-old Calvin Balom of Carbondale ran into the rear of an SUV on North Elm near the McCord Street intersection.
The driver of the SUV, 57-year-old Robert Atchison of Jefferson Street in Junction City, was injured along with five female juvenile girls all under the age of ten from Centralia. They were all taken to SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital by Lifestar Ambulance. Atchison reportedly was transferred to a St. Louis Hospital for treatment.
The impact of the crash caused the rear of the SUV to be crushed into the seat area while the trash truck received virtually no damage.
Balom declined hospital treatment. He was ticketed by Centralia Police for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
The crash occurred at 9:11 Tuesday morning.
