Truck driver dies in crash near Shawneetown | News

A Norris City truck driver was killed Wednesday when he crashed near Shawneetown.

llinois State Police (ISP) District 19 say it happened about 8:35 a.m. on Illinois Route 13, approximately ½ mile east of Old Shawneetown Road.

The preliminary traffic crash investigation indicated that the driver, 72-year-old Glendell P. Shewmaker,  was haulilng a dump trailer full of coal,  when for unknown reasons, he crossed the westbound lane and proceeded through a guardrail, before coming to rest down an embankment on the north side of the roadway.  Shewmaker was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.

As a result of the crash, there was extensive damage to the vehicle, the guardrail, and the entire load of coal was spilled.  

Illinois State Police was assisted at the crash scene by the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Department, Shawneetown Police Department, Shawneetown Fire Department, Gallatin County Ambulance Service, and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The traffic crash remains under investigation.