Four Vehicles Involved in Fayette County Crash

Four vehicles were involved in a crash in Fayette County Friday evening.

State police said two semis and two other vehicles were a part of the crash, which occurred about 5pm in the westbound lanes near Vandalia. Police say a semi driven by 25-year-old James Williams of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, struck a vehicle driven by 53-year-old Dana Mendenhall of Robinson, struck a vehicle driven by 47-year-old William Dixon of Fairport, New York, and then struck a semi driven by 38-year-old Richard Nichols of Quincy. Williams' semi then ran off the right side of the roadway.

Williams was airlifted from the scene to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, while Mendenhall was airlifted to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. Nichols was treated at Fayette County Hospital in Vandalia; Dixon was not reported injured.

Williams was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid the crash and following too closely.