Two injured in serious tractor-trailer crash on I-55/Illinois 143 Thursday, 40,000 pounds of soybeans spilled

EDWARDSVILLE - Two were transported to the hospital from a serious accident scene that involved a tractor-trailer and another vehicle Thursday afternoon at Interstate-55 and Illinois 143.

Edwardsville Fire Department Deputy Chief James Whiteford said one patient was transported by Abbott Ambulance and another by Edwardsville Ambulance. He said he could not comment on the condition of the two taken to the hospital.

Deputy Chief Whiteford said the call about the accident came in at 3:51 p.m. and the last unit cleared the scene at 5:56 p.m.

Whiteford said the accident was unfortunate, but it was a stroke of luck that the tractor-trailer did not hit anyone head-on.

"The tractor-trailer crossed over into oncoming traffic,” he said. “The vehicle that crashed made contact with the dividing barrier that was pushed under the roadway, not the tractor-trailer. It could have been so much worse; fortunately, there was not a head-on collision.”

Deputy Chief Whiteford said an estimated 40,000 pounds of soybeans were spilled from the tractor trailer that overturned during the crash.

“They had to bring equipment to the scene to pick up the soybeans,” Whiteford said. “There was a bobcat and another tractor-trailer was used to haul away the soybeans. The soybeans spill was a part of the reason the cleanup took so long.”

Traffic was backed up for several miles during the cleanup process because the accident occurred right in the heart of rush hour.

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