UPDATED 4:00 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – One of the victims in a fiery crash Sunday night in Peoria’s West Bluff was airlifted to Chicago for treatment of severe burn injuries.
Peoria Police on Monday afternoon released more details about the crash at the intersection of Sheridan and Nebraska, just after 6:30 P.M.
Police say preliminary investigation shows the crash was caused by a speeding vehicle that failed to stop at a red light. The alleged at-fault driver, a 41-year-old male, suffered severe burns and was flown to Chicago for specialized burn care.
Three other people were injured in the crash, and a bystander suffered minor facial burns while removing a victim from the burning vehicle.
Police say all are expected to survive. The crash continues to be investigated.
Jordan Page was one of multiple bystanders who helped rescue people from the crash in its aftermath. He detailed the rescue efforts with WMBD’s “The Phil Luciano Show.”
“Everybody did great from what I’ve seen,” Page said. “There was one fire truck to take care of the fire on the truck. And then there was obviously the rest of everybody to administer aid to all the people involved, and they did great from what I’ve seen.”
Page says he was getting up from his chair when he heard an explosion that sounded like a “bomb going off,” and was something that shook his house. He says the area is prone to crashes of all types.
Page says he saw the truck involved fully engulfed in flames, as well as the truck driver who was rolling around on the ground. He responded by grabbing a pitcher of water as fast as possible and poured it on as much of the fire on the victim as he could.
Page says he gives full credit to the injured bystander for pulling the victim out and away from the flaming truck, and using his coat to put the fire out on the victim’s body as much as possible. He says the victim might not have gotten out of the truck without the bystander’s help.
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PEORIA, Ill. – Five people were taken to a local hospital after a multi-vehicle fiery crash in Peoria’s West Bluff on Sunday night.
Peoria Police says three vehicles had crashed just after 6:30 P.M. at the intersection of Sheridan and Nebraska, with one vehicle fully engulfed in flames.
Police say four of the five injured suffered serious injuries, but are expected to survive. One male not involved in the crash suffered minor burns to his face as he pulled away the driver from the fully engulfed vehicle.
The intersection was shut down by police in the aftermath of the crash.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
