Interstate bridge decks treacherous

Photo by: Rick Danzl/The News-Gazette

A good samaritan tries to push a motorist back on the road near Cunningham Avenue and Interstate 74 in Urbana on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. The driver slid off into the median, made several attempts to get back on the road and finally did, then slid off in another ditch where a tow truck would be needed to get the car out.

PESOTUM Lane blockages on Interstate 57 near I-72 west of Champaign and on I-74 near Lincoln Avenue north of Urbana have been cleared following early morning accidents, as has an accident in northwest Champaign.

News-Gazette photographers report seeing several cars sliding off I-74 westbound into the median near Lincoln Avenue.

Illinois State Police troopers are handling multiple crashes and vehicle slide-offs, especially on or near bridge decks on the interstates. A truck/camper trailer jackknifed on I-74 near Danville mid-morning, blocking the westbound driving lane.

About 7:48 a.m., Sabrina K. Tucker Hinton, 19, of Bement, was driving a pickup truck west on I-74 when she hit a patch of ice, struck the median, then went back across the westbound lanes and was struck by a UPS tractor trailer truck. Both vehicles came to rest blocking the lanes of the bridge deck over the railroad tracks.

Hinton was ticketed for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Meantime, Mattis Avenue north of Bradley in northwest Champaign was shut down for about an hour Wednesday morning as Champaign police dealt with a head-on collision that sent two women to the hospital.

Sgt. Tom Frost said the accident happened about 8:28 a.m. on Mattis at Williamsburg Drive.

A southbound Honda Accord driven by Lola Ratliff, 62, of Champaign, apparently lost control on the slick road and went into the oncoming lane of traffic. The car collided head-on with a northbound Kia Sedona van driven by Imee Smith, 33, of Champaign.

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Interstate bridge decks treacherous