SOUTHERN ILLINOIS – Illinois State Police have released information regarding three crashes on I-57 in our area – two on Friday and one on Saturday.

ISP responded to a one vehicle crash on southbound I-57 in West Frankfort just before 10 Friday morning.

According to ISP, a black 2022 Mercedes Benz E350 hydroplaned, ran off the roadway to the right, and struck the concrete barrier. It was reportedly raining heavily at the time of the crash. The driver was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.

Then Friday afternoon, both northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 57 near Ina were shut down following a fiery three-vehicle crash that resulted in at least one person being injured.

According to Illinois State Police, troopers responded to a crash involving two passenger cars and a semi-truck. The semi-truck and trailer reportedly caught fire as a result of the crash.

Our sister station, WMIX, in Mt. Vernon reported Benton, Ewing, Mt. Vernon, and Woodlawn/Webber fire departments responded to a Jefferson Fire request for mutual aid at the scene and at the fire station in response to the incident. Illinois State Police, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and Litton’s EMS also responded to the scene on southbound I-57 at the 84-mile marker.

Both directions of I-57 were reopened around 1:40 Friday afternoon.

On Saturday morning, a hit-and-run crash involving a box truck and a passenger vehicle happened on southbound I-57 near Whittington.

According to Illinois State Police, around 9:45 a.m., a box truck and passenger vehicle collided causing the passenger vehicle to become incapacitated on the right shoulder. The box truck continued. No injuries were reported.

ISP says there is no further information available at this time.