Fatal Accident in Wayne County, Illinois Kills Driver Who Transported Amish Workers

WAYNE COUNTY, IL- The courierpress.com reports that a 31-year-old man was killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer in Wayne County, Illinois. The victim, Brian P. Cotton of Fairfield worked for an Amish construction company. Cotton drove the Amish workers to and from their work sites. At the time of the accident, he was transporting a 32-year-old Amish man, Emery Stutzman, Jr.*

The collision occurred at the intersection of Illinois Route 161 and Enterprise Road. Cotton was driving west on Ill. 161 when his 2015 Dodge Ram pick-up truck went under the trailer part of a large truck that was headed north Enterprise Road.

The Illinois State Police say that it appears that the truck ran through a stop sign.

The Wayne County Coroner pronounced Cotton dead at the scene of the accident. Stutzman was airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville.

The 29-year-old driver of the tractor-trailer, Steven S.F. Vanarkel, along with Jessica N. Varnarkel, and their son were all uninjured in the collision.

According to authorities, charges will likely be filed in relation to the accident.

The Federal Highway Administration states that more than half of all traffic-related fatalities happen near or in intersections. Over 40% of fatal intersection crashes happen at intersections that have stop signs. Most of these collisions involved a driver who stopped at the sign but failed to see the other vehicle or failed to yield to the other driver. In only a small percentage of stop sign-related crashes does a driver completely fail to stop at all. While drivers rarely run through stop signs, when they do, any resulting accident is more likely to involve severe injuries than in the other types of collisions.

Call us at 312.422.0500 and schedule an appointment with our experienced car accident attorneys in Illinois today. The free consultation is completely confidential and we will discuss your options and formulate a plan to help you obtain the compensation that you deserve.

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