Two area men are dead as the result of separate accidents involving semi tractor trailers. The Woodford County Coroner says 48-year-old Jeffrey Bryant of Danville was killed Wednesday afternoon (July 10th, 2019) in a crash along Interstate 74 between Bloomington and Peoria. And Illinois State Police say a 24-year-old Paris man died Wednesday morning in a single-vehicle semi crash along East Terre Haute Road in Edgar County. The victim has been identified by the Edgar County Coroner as Garrett Woltman.
State Police say Bryant was the driver of a semi tractor trailer which hit the rear of another semi which had broken down in a construction zone. Troopers say the driver of the disabled semi had pulled to the right as far as possible along the east-bound lanes of Interstate 74 near Goodfield. They say Bryant apparently thought there was room to pass the disabled truck but his vehicle struck the rear of the other semi.
And State Police say that in the crash where the Paris, Illinois man died in Edgar County, 24-year-old Brett Bell of Paris was the driver who was taken to an area hospital. They say Bell suffered non-life threatening injuries when his truck went off the road and overturned. The 24-year-old passenger in Bell’s truck, Garrett Woltman, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 10:30 Wednesday morning.
Bell was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, improper lane usage, improper operation of a commercial vehicle (no commercial driver’s license), and failure to wear a seat belt. All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
