Montrose Man Killed When Car Was Hit by Train

A Montrose man was fatally injured when his car was struck by a train Sunday morning.

Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes reported the death of 63-year-old Pierre A. Menard, who was the only person in the vehicle. The crash happened at 9:47am on the CSX tracks at the Maple Street crossing in Montrose.

Rhodes reported an SUV driven by Menard was traveling north across the crossing when it was struck by the westbound freight train. The SUV came to rest on the south side of the tracks approximately 200 feet west of the crossing.

Preliminary investigation by the Illinois State Police, the Coroner's Office, and the supervisor of CSX Railroad determined the crossing lights were working at the time of the crash. There are no crossing arms at the crossing. The train's horn was operational as it traveled through Montrose. Neither the train's conductor nor engineer were injured in the crash.

The Coroner's Office transported Menard's remains to the morgue and notified the next-of-kin. Toxicology samples were taken and sent to NMS certified lab for analysis. The investigation is continuing by the Coroner's Office, Illinois State Police, and CSX Railroad.

Agencies on scene that assisted were Effingham County Sheriff's Department, Illinois State Police, Abbott EMS, Effingham County Coroner's Office, Montrose Fire Protection District firefighters, and CSX Railroad officials.