EFFINGHAM COUNTY — An 83-year-old woman from Brownstown died following a head-on collision on Interstate 57 late Saturday night.
According to authorities, the crash occurred at 10:28 p.m. when Shirley M. Klitzing was driving southbound in the northbound lanes and collided head-on with a semi-truck operated by Richard P. Messerve, 68, from Mayer, Arizona.
The impact caused Klitzing's vehicle to spin around the truck, which subsequently overturned and struck a guardrail. Both drivers had to be extricated from their vehicles by emergency responders.
Klitzing sustained multiple traumatic injuries and was airlifted to Carle Foundation Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. Sunday. Messerve was pronounced dead at the scene.
Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup confirmed that no autopsy will be performed on Klitzing. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.