Fatality reported in three-vehicle crash on Route 158 near Columbia
A 21-year-old Belleville woman died in a three-vehicle crash that occurred about 6:45 p.m. Sunday on Route 158 near Limestone Lane between Columbia and Millstadt in St. Clair County.
Two cars collided head-on, and a pickup truck clipped the rear of one of the cars, Millstadt Fire Chief Kurt Pellman told the Republic-Times. His department responded along with Illinois State Police and Columbia EMS.
Illinois State Police said Monday morning that an eastbound 1998 Ford Escort driven by Courtney Brown, 21, of Belleville, lost control for unknown reasons and over-corrected, veering into the oncoming lane of traffic on Route 158. It collided head-on with a westbound 2009 Toyota Camry driven by a 15-year-old Waterloo girl, who was operating the vehicle with a learner’s permit. A westbound 2012 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Dennis Dohrman, 57, of Columbia, was trailing behind the Toyota and clipped the rear of the car following the collision.
Brown was pronounced dead at the scene. The 15-year-old driver of the Toyota was transported by Columbia EMS in an ambulance to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. A passenger in her car, Joshua Phelps, 40, of Waterloo, was airlifted by ARCH Air Medical Services helicopter to Saint Louis University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. Dohrman was not injured in the crash.
All persons involved in the crash were wearing their seat belts, police said.
The roadway was shut down for more than two hours while emergency personnel cleared the scene and investigated the crash.