SALINE CO., Ill. - A dropped e-cigarette is being blamed for a distracted driving incident this afternoon that sent one man to an area hospital after a two-vehicle collision on U.S. 45.
The incident occurred at 3:37 p.m. today (Sunday, January 6) on 45 at Muddy Road.
Illinois State Police say that according to preliminary traffic crash investigation, the driver of a 1960 Massey Ferguson tractor, Raymond G. Bowles, 60 of Harrisburg, was traveling southbound on 45 in the right lane at Muddy Road at a slow rate of speed.
The driver of a 2017 Volvo semi truck with trailer, Kevin S. Voelker, 56, of Omaha, was also traveling southbound on 45 in the same lane at a higher rate of apeed.
Voelker claimed he was distracted when he dropped an e-cigarette device in his cab. The semi then struck the tractor in the rear, overturning it.
Bowles was injured and transported by LifeFlight to a local hospital. Voelker was uninjured.
Illinois State Police in District 19 was assisted at the crash scene by the Saline County Sheriff's Office, the Saline County Ambulance Service, and LifeFlight. The highway was blocked for a short time but was reopened not long after the wreck.
Voelker was charged with Failing to Reduce Speed to Avoid a Crash.