Two former Centralia residents who now reside in Murphysboro were killed in an early Thursday morning off-road side-by-side crash near Ava in rural Jackson County.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department identifies the two as 35-year-old Alex Auld and 35-year-old Kelsie Blue. A third person, 62-year-old David McCaleb, also of Murphysboro, was airlifted from the scene to a St. Louis area hospital for treatment. The department reported he was last listed in serious but stable condition.
A news release said deputies responded to the Tiger Road area in rural Ava around 12:17 Thursday morning after receiving a report of the crash. Evidence showed the side-by-side was navigating trails through a wooded area when the vehicle overturned into a creek bed.
Both Auld and Blue were born and grew up in Centralia. Blue worked for DHS in Carbondale, and Auld was self-employed and operated Invisible Fence of Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri. He served six years in the US Air Force.
The two will have a joint funeral service celebrating their lives at noon on Thursday, November 12th, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Centralia, with visitation from nine to noon on Thursday at the church.
Their obituary begins, ‘Two Lives, One Love, Forever Together’. They were looking forward to beginning the next chapter of their lives as husband and wife.
You can view the full obituary in the obituary section of SouthernIllinoisNow.com and leave online condolences at sutherlandfuneralhome.com or on the funeral home’s Facebook page.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Jackson County Coroner’s Office are continuing their investigation.
