(FINAL) Information Released on Multi-Vehicle Crashes Tuesday in Cumberland County

Information has been released on two multi-vehicle collisions Tuesday afternoon in Cumberland County. The larger crash involved five semi tractor-trailer combinations and a pickup truck.

That collision occurred at 4:40pm, two miles west of the Greenup interchange.

The semis involved were driven by 23-year-old Guramritpal Singh of Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada; 42-year-old Charantjit Sandhu of Grant Ford, Ontario, Canada; 58-year-old James White of Kansas City, Kansas; 59-year-old Donnie Furr of Dallas, Texas; and 66-year-old Alfred Heisler of Warrenton, Missouri. The pickup driver was 48-year-old Joseph Crossfield of Cushing, Oklahoma. 

Illinois State Police report Singh was traveling eastbound while the other five vehicles were stopped due to a three-vehicle crash that had occurred earlier near Casey. The five stopped vehicles were in a bumper-to-bumper, straight line formation. Singh's rig rear-ended the Sandhu semi and started a chain-reaction series of rear-end crashes.

Singh was airlifted from the scene to a regional hospital for treatment of what were termed serious injuries. Sandhu was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non life-threatening injuries. All of the other drivers refused medical attention.

Due to the recovery and towing of all of the vehicles involved, eastbound lanes were closed between the Montrose and Greenup interchanges until approximately 6am today.

Singh was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid the crash.

The earlier crash occurred at 2:35pm on eastbound I-70 between Greenup and Casey and involved two semis and a SUV. The semis were driven by 63-year-old Kerry Kretchek of Indianapolis, Indiana and 68-year-old Robert Mohrmanin of Lewes, Delaware. The SUV was driven by 63-year-old Jerry Hickam of Bloomington, Indiana.

State police report Hickam's SUV was stopped in traffic. Kretchek's semi rear-ended the SUV, which was pushed into Mohrmanin's rig.

Hickam was airlifted to a regional hospital for treatment of serious injuries. A passenger in the SUV, 61-year-old Jonita Hickam of Bloomington, Indiana, was transported by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of non life threatening injuries.

Kretchek was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid the crash. 

Eastbound I-70 at the location of that crash, about two miles west of Casey, was closed for about two hours.