Interstate 74 near Morton shutdown overnight after deadly crash

Posted on October 17, 2024
The crash occurred around 10 p.m. Wednesday on I-74 eastbound near Morton. (WJBC File Photo)

By WMBD-TV

MORTON – A crash left one person dead and another person injured last night on Interstate 74 in Morton

The crash occurred around 10 p.m. Wednesday on I-74 eastbound near Morton.

A pickup truck driver was driving the wrong way on the highway and crashed head on with a semi truck.

The crash quickly turned into an inferno and the driver of the pickup truck was pronounced dead on the scene.

The driver of the semi truck is in the hospital with critical injuries.

The accident shut down the eastbound lane of the interstate for eight hours, and I-74 was reopened this morning shortly after 6 a.m.

The crash is still under investigation by state and local police.

WMBD-TV can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…