Crash kills Evansville family
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[WATERLOO - A husband and wife from Evansville and their 4-year-old daughter died from injuries sustained in a head-on crash involving a white work van and Pontiac Grand Prix on Route 3 between Crook Road and LL Road south of Waterloo around 11 p.m. Saturday.
The Monroe County Coroner's Office identified the victims Sunday morning as Steven W. Brickeen Jr., 29, his wife Tiffaine L. Brickeen, 29, and their daughter, Mary Jane Brickeen, 4, all of Evansville, Ill.
All three were occupants of a red 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix. Steven and Mary Jane Brickeen were pronounced dead at the scene; Tiffaine was rushed to Red Bud Regional Hospital by Monroe County EMS, where she died shortly upon arrival.
The husband and wife were restrained occupants in the car's front seats, the coroner's office stated in a press release. The daughter was also restrained in a car booster seat in the rear passenger side of the vehicle.
In addition to the Monroe County Coroner, Monroe County EMS, and Illinois State Police, other agencies assisting at the scene included Waterloo police and fire, the Monroe County Sheriff's Department and Red Bud Fire Department.
Route 3 was closed in both directions for a few hours as crews handled the scene, with traffic diverted onto nearby country roads.
Illinois State Police said a 2002 Ford Econoline van driven by Stephen Wilkes, 44, of Maryland Heights, Mo., was traveling northbound on Route 3 when the southbound Pontiac "encroached into the northbound lane" for unknown reasons and struck the van head-on.
Wilkes was airlifted by an ARCH Air Medical Services helicopter to Saint Louis University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries that were not life-threatening. A passenger in the van, Timothy Gaeng, 45, of Bridgeton, Mo., was rushed to St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis for non-life-threatening injuries. Both were wearing seat belts, police said.
The Pontiac traveled 14 feet from the point of impact, coming to rest facing
north in the southbound lanes, ISP said. The van traveled 20 feet from the point of impact, coming to rest facing southwest in the northbound ditch.
The crash remains under investigation.