Emergency personnel responded about 2:20 a.m. Monday to a fatal crash on I-255 westbound at milepost 5.8 in Columbia.

A car drove into the rear of a tractor-trailer that was parked on the right shoulder, police said. The driver of the car was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver of the semi-truck reported no injuries on scene. The roadway was closed during the crash investigation and reopened shortly before 7 a.m.

Responding agencies included the Columbia Fire Department, Columbia Police Department, Columbia EMS, Illinois State Police and Monroe County Coroner’s Office.

On Monday evening, Monroe County Coroner Bob Hill released the name of the deceased as Sally Jo Tate, 66, of House Springs, Mo.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that a 2007 Chevy Cobalt for unknown reasons traveled onto the right shoulder, striking the back of a parked 2023 Freightliner semi-tractor trailer,” Hill’s press release states.

Tate was the sole occupant of the Chevy Cobalt.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation by Illinois State Police.