Snowy road conditions lead to rash of accidents
A 70-year-old Ava resident was involved in a winter weather-related rollover on Rockcastle Road in Steeleville on Feb. 10.
According to Chief Deputy Jarrod Peters of the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, Sadie Brooks was traveling south on Rockcastle in a 2004 Chevrolet Blazer when the vehicle slid off the road and overturned onto its passenger side.
Peters told the Herald Tribune Brooks was not injured in the accident.
"There was a caller there who helped get her out of the vehicle and stayed with her until we arrived," Peters said.
Peters said the accident did not meet the threshold for damage to generate a crash report, which is $1,500 for single-vehicle accidents if the driver is insured.
If the driver is not insured, the threshold is $500.
Brooks' accident was part of a series of incidents that occurred last Wednesday. Peters previously told the Herald Tribune that six accidents - and three vehicles in the ditch - were caused by poor road conditions due to the weather.
Peters said Tuesday that in most of those cases, the damage was not significant enough to generate a report.
But one accident, reported at 4:16 p.m. on Route 150 at Grefe Road, involved a Randolph County Sheriff's Office deputy and 27-year-old Daniel S. Smith, of Steeleville.
According to Illinois State Police Trooper Christopher "Joey" Watson, the deputy - a 32-year-old male of Chester - was driving a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria and was traveling south on Route 150 to respond to a different accident.
Smith was traveling north on Route 150 in a 2000 Buick Regal. The squad car passed a vehicle and lost control on the snow-covered roadway, sliding into the path of the Regal.
The squad car was struck in the driver's side door by the front of the Regal. Both drivers were uninjured in the accident and both vehicles had to be towed due to damage.
Last Thursday, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office reported it responded to nine traffic crashes due to the snow-covered roadways, all relatively minor with no injuries reported.