Both drivers were injured in a Wednesday morning crash on Illinois Route 161 west of I-57 near the entrance to Biggies.
Marion County Sheriff’s Deputies say 50-year-old Sheryl Watwood of Kingshighway in Kinmundy was westbound on Route 161 when she pulled to the shoulder in preparation for making a left turn. She was blinded by the sun when pulling back across the highway and didn’t see an approaching westbound car driven by 21-year-old Lexie Draper of Deerwood Mobile Home Park in Centralia. The two collided with the impact causing the Watwood car to roll over on its passenger side.
Draper was airlifted from the scene by Air Evac to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis for treatment. She was assisted out of her vehicle by the Salem Fire Protection District.
Watwood was out of her car and taken to SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia for treatment of injuries.
The crash occurred at 7:02 Wednesday morning.
