BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Paramedics in Lincoln had a record number of ambulance calls in one day because of traffic crashes and falls from Saturday s ice storm.
Steve Siltman, paramedic and CEO for the Logan County Paramedic Association, said his company handled 32 calls Saturday, 22 of which were related to the ice storm.
We had a few falls, but most of them were auto accidents, Siltman said.
The slick roads also led to nearly 50 crashes in Bloomington-Normal and along county highways.
Bloomington police spokesman David White said there were 33 crashes reported in Bloomington Saturday, four with injuries. At least 10 of 19 crashes in Normal on Saturday were related to ice on the road, according to crash reports.
There were six weather-related crashes handled by the McLean County Sheriff s Department, two of which involved injuries, a records official said.
There were 30 crashes reported to state police Saturday in Livingston, McLean and DeWitt counties, said Illinois State Police Lt. Ted Kerrn. Those included three with injuries and one fatal crash, he said.
Darrell Hill, 48, of Chicago, died from injuries suffered in a crash between Pontiac and Odell, said Livingston County Coroner Michael Burke. Hill was pronounced dead at OSF Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Pontiac about 4:30 p.m., he said.
Hill was driving north on Interstate 55 when he apparently lost control on icy pavement, went off the road and rolled about 4:10 p.m. near mile marker 205, Kerrn said. He was thrown from the vehicle, which crossed a grassy area and Old Route 66 before coming to rest on its roof.
Another man died about the same time from injuries suffered in a weather-related crash that afternoon in Logan County.
Logan County Coroner Robert Thomas said Chad S. Twente, 27, died about 4:30 p.m. at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln. He said Twente was involved in a one-vehicle crash about 3 p.m. on 350th Avenue in rural New Holland, which is west of Lincoln.
The road near the crash was slick with ice, Thomas said. Twente was not wearing a seat belt and he was thrown from the vehicle, he said.
The vehicle left the roadway, went through a small ditch and it looks like it might have rolled one time, Thomas said.
Illinois State Trooper Tony Halsey said his district, which includes Tazewell, Woodford, Peoria, Stark and Marshall counties, received reports of 14 crashes Saturday, including two with minor injuries.
Illinois State Police Sgt. Jarod Ingebrigtsen said there were 65 traffic crashes in his district between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, and 15 of those resulted in injuries. His district covers a seven-county area, including Logan and Sangamon counties.