The Illinois State Police on Wednesday, June 17th, released new details of the fatal collision that killed Andrzej Poprawa, 50, of Palm Coast, Florida, and two others on Interstate 57 in the Mattoon area of Illinois. The updated accident reports showed that the victim began the events that caused the crash.
The ISP said that on Thursday, June 11th, Poprawa, who was driving a tractor-trailer failed to slow down when he encountered stopped traffic. The latter is a result of a multiple-vehicle collision that occurred half an hour earlier on the interstate.
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The investigators said that the victim struck a truck driven by a woman identified by the Coles County Coroner Ed Schniers as Peggy Malcolm, 78. The impact fatally injured the driver and her male passenger, 50-year-old Brad Malcolm; the two are from Morton.
Poprawa’s truck went on to hit other vehicles, sending them crashing into other tractor-trailers on the railway. One of the affected drivers, identified as Ricky L. Robertson of Charleston, sustained injuries and received treatment at an undisclosed hospital. The ISP did not list any other motorist as injured.
The other tractor-trailers affected were driven by Clayton M. Scott of Richland, Indiana, and Robert L. Wilson of Port Saint Lucie, Florida. A sports utility vehicle belonging to Richard D. Lutze of Newark, Illinois, was also involved in the collision.
The ISP said that the earlier crash did not have any fatalities, but Jonathan S. Turner, 53, of Water Valley, Mississippi, and Christina Wiltz Credeur of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, sustained injuries.
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