Icy Conditions Cause Accidents Friday Night

State Police report at 7:22pm Friday night a SUV driven by Heather Dawn Cato, 39 of Mt. Pleasant Michigan, was traveling southbound on I-57 at mile post 138 ½, 3-miles north of Farina, when Cato suddenly traveled onto the icy roadways causing her to lose control and slide off the roadway to the right and overturn. 

 

Both Cato and her passenger, Paige N. Pontarolo, 22 also from Mt. Pleasant were transported to HSHS St. Anthony Memorial Hospital in Effingham by Farina Ambulance Service for non-life threatening injuries. No tickets were issued.

 

A second accident happened on the Edgewood I-57 southbound exit ramp at 9:30pm and closed the exit until midnight.

 

The bottom of exit ramp was blocked by a semi that jack knifed across the entire exit ramp causing ten vehicles traveling down the ramp to attempt to stop and eventually slide off onto the exit ramp's shoulder due to the sheet of ice covering the ramp.  One of those vehicles was a truck driven by Fransisco Ruiz of Toledo Ohio. Ruiz had exited his pickup, just before a car driven by a 17 year old from Iola exited onto the ramp and due to the icy road surface, the driver of the car was unable to stop, and struck the back of truck.

 

The Iola 17 year old was injured and transported by private vehicle to Effingham's HSHS St. Anthony Memorial Hospital for medical attention.

 

No tickets were issued.