Thursday accidents result in one death, two injured
<span>A pair of Thursday accidents claimed the life of one Chester woman and caused significant damage to a cemetery in another.</span>
<span>The first accident, a head-on collision on Route 3 next to Red Dot Construction and Equipment Rentals, fatally injured 89-year-old Imogene Gordon.</span>
<span>Thirty-two-year-old Bree Crossland was the other driver.</span>
<span>Crossland was driving a silver 2012 Chrysler, while Gordon was driving a red 1993 Plymouth.</span>
<span>According to a news release from Chester Police Department Sgt. Bobby Helmers, the cause of the accident is still under investigation by the Illinois State Police.</span>
<span>"I knew she wasn't in good shape when we got her out," said Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert of Gordon. "She wasn't talking to us or anything. It's sad.</span>
<span>"They called us for entrapment, but neither one of them was really entrapped."</span>
<span>Both drivers were transported by MedStar Ambulance to Chester Memorial Hospital, where Gordon was pronounced dead.</span>
<span>According to Randolph County Coroner Randy Dudenbostel, the time of Gordon's death was 2:58 p.m., less than an hour after the accident was reported at 2:09 p.m.</span>
<span>Route 3 was closed in front of Red Dot for roughly four hours after the incident, with traffic diverted to Hillview Drive, for accident reconstruction and cleanup.</span>
<span>At 6:19 p.m. that evening, first responders were paged to the report of a one-vehicle rollover with entrapment and possible fire on Route 150 at Paradise Cemetery.</span>
<span>Steeleville Fire Chief Carlos Barbour said the victim of that crash, 78-year-old Sammie Wells of Du Quoin, was already out of the car when firefighters arrived.</span>
<span>"There's considerable damage to the front of the cemetery and some monuments were damaged," Barbour said.</span>
<span>According to the Randolph County Sheriff's Office crash report, Wells was traveling eastbound on Route 150 in a 2011 Buick Enclave when he failed to make the curve in front of Paradise Cemetery.</span>
<span>The Enclave struck the ditch at the culvert of a driveway at the cemetery and became airborne.</span>
<span>The vehicle then struck a decorative stone sign at the cemetery's entrance, overturned and knocked over a headstone with the names Nell D. Knop and Walter W. "Charlie" Knop.</span>
<span>The accident report states that other motorists stopped, extricated Wells and flipped the Enclave - which had come to rest on the driver's side - back on its wheels.</span>
<span>Wells was transported to Chester Memorial Hospital for treatment. He was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.</span>
<span>Steeleville Village Supervisor and Police Chief Lyn Thies said the cemetery damage will billed to Wells' insurance company.</span>
<span>"We turn it into our insurance company and at this point, we're waiting to hear from his insurance company," he said on Monday.</span>
<span>On Jan. 15, the Du Quoin Police Department issued an endangered missing persons alert for Wells, who had been reported missing by his daughter while on his way to a RV show in St. Louis.</span>
<span>He was found safe a day later in Missouri.</span>