Details Released on Four-Vehicle Crash in Watson Township

Details were released Tuesday afternoon on a four-vehicle crash that occurred in Watson Township earlier this month.

Effingham County Sheriff's Office reported the crash occurred at 4:55pm on August 13. The crash happened on US Route 45, just north of 650th Avenue near Percival Springs Airport. 

Deputies reported an unidentified truck slowed in the roadway to allow ducks and geese to walk across the road. Vehicles driven by 24-year-old Damian Ibanez Hernandez of San Antonio, Texas; 20-year-old Alex Rodriguez of Flora; and 37-year-old Almeida Alvarez of Prairie View, Texas slowed to a near stop. However, a pickup truck driven by 64-year-old Marcus Santiago Duran of Effingham struck the Rodriguez vehicle, pushing Rodriguez into the Hernandez vehicle. The Hernandez vehicle was then pushed into the Alvarez vehicle. 

The Alvarez vehicle is reported to have struck the slowing truck that caused the crash, but the driver of that vehicle left the scene, saying their vehicle had no damage.

In the meantime, seven people in the crash were injured. Rural Med EMS took three people to HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham, three were treated on scene by Rural Med and one person was taken by a family member for treatment.