Weather a factor in rash of wrecks

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December 1, 2008

One hurt in accident north of Rossville

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL The Commercial-News Mon Dec 01, 2008, 09:51 PM CST

ROSSVILLE — Slick roads on Sunday resulted in a collision that split a car in half and left one driver in the hospital.

The two-vehicle accident happened at 7:18 a.m. Sunday along Illinois Route 1, about a ¼ mile north of Rossville.

Vermilion County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Dennis Wood said the one driver, Gregory Baumann, 58, was injured and taken to Hoopeston Community Memorial Hospital. From there he was transported to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.

A Carle spokeswoman said Baumann was listed in critical condition.

The second driver in the accident, 24-year-old Heather Boen, was shaken up as a result of the accident, but uninjured, Wood said.

Boen told a deputy she was headed south toward Rossville when she spotted Baumann’s 1989 Lincoln coming northbound, appearing as though it was sliding and out of control. The vehicle was righted, but just as the vehicles met, the Baumann lost control again, opening the car to a driver’s side collision with Boen’s 1997 Chevrolet truck.

Wood said the collision split the Lincoln in half.

No citations have been issued and an investigation into the accident is continuing.

The accident was the first and the most serious of a series of weather-related accidents that occurred as a result of snowfall in the region during the weekend. A rash of traffic accidents were reported again Monday night as a result of slick roads.

According to the National Weather Service, Vermilion County was in the middle of the range of snow flakes that fell throughout Vermilion County during the holiday weekend. Totals in the county ranged from 3 and 3.2 inches in Hoopeston and Rankin respectively to 4 inches in the Sidell area.

But the traffic problems are no surprise.

“It’s pretty typical of the first snowfall situation of the year,” Wood said, adding the sheriff’s department held over deputies from the overnight shift to deal with the barrage.

Accidents were reported along county and state roads as well as Interstate 74, Wood said. None of the damage was major.

Oftentimes, drivers don’t plan ahead and allow enough driving time. Wood said people need to keep their vehicle at a reasonable speed in order to get it stopped if a problem presents itself.

The weather-related crashes are just another staple of the season for motorists.

“We start with deer problems and with the first snow or two, end up with a mass of vehicles in ditches,” Wood said.

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