Coroner's jury returns an 'undetermined' in May car-truck crash

[July 12, 2012]  On a Tuesday night in May, a young woman and a truck driver lost their lives on the interstate west of Lincoln. Lakesha R. Williams, 21, of Calumet City, was driving a 2006 Hyundai Elantra and Donald L. McGregor, 67, of Fall River, Kan., a tractor-trailer.

Tuesday evening, Logan County Coroner Robert Thomas conducted an inquest into their deaths. Six jurors heard expert witnesses regarding the event.

On May 8, Illinois State Police District 9 was notified of a vehicle sitting on the interstate with its lights out.

Trooper Anthony F. Kink said it was after 11 p.m. and he was in Springfield when he was dispatched to check on a vehicle on Interstate 55, near the 124 mile marker. It was stopped in the right-hand lane, southbound, with its lights off.

Kink said that while he was en route, he was notified that the vehicle had been involved in an accident. When he arrived, Logan County deputies were already on the scene.

Kink, a state-certified accident reconstructionist, took pictures at the scene. He reviewed a diagram and photos, explaining for the jury what had happened.

At the time of the impact, the vehicles were in the right-hand lane. They moved left toward the median together and went through a guardrail.

Both drivers were ejected after the vehicles struck the guardrail and left the highway.

It was then that the vehicles separated. The truck hit a bridge abutment and slid down the hill and into the creek.

The Hyundai stopped nearer to the top of the hill. In one photo, a tire mark was noted on the passenger-side front-seat headrest from the truck driving over the car.

Both Williams and McGregor were pronounced dead at the scene at 11:40 p.m. by paramedics.

A deputy coroner, Penny Thomas, first gave testimony. Thomas was at the scene and reviewed the autopsy results on Williams.

Another deputy coroner, William Brooks, reviewed McGregor's autopsy results.

Both autopsies were performed by Dr. Denton at the McLean County Morgue.

The reports revealed that both Williams and McGregor received extensive external and internal injuries. Toxicology results on both drivers were clear of any drug or alcohol, other than a slight amount of caffeine in McGregor.

Denton's conclusion on the cause of death of both Williams and McGregor was the same: multiple injuries from the collision of the car and tractor-trailer.

As the question-and-answer period began, an additional circumstance was added. The vehicle involved had been reported stolen two to three hours before the accident. The vehicle belonged to the mother of the deceased.

One juror asked if it could be determined that Williams was alive at the time of the crash.

The coroner said that Denton did say it was his opinion that she was alive until the impact of the crash.

Another juror questioned if this took place where the road was flat, with no hill.

It was confirmed there was no hill where this took place.

The coroner's inquest is not a civil or criminal trial. According to Thomas, "it is simply an inquiry into the manner and cause of an individual's death."

The "cause" is what is responsible for the fatality as evidenced by the autopsy results.

Jurors would need to determine the manner of death, or how the death took place.

The manner of death falls into five categories:

• Natural death is by disease or natural cause.

• Accidental death is from circumstances not intentionally caused by the deceased or by another person.

• Homicide is a death resulting by circumstances intentionally caused to the deceased by another person.

• Suicide is when death results from circumstances intentionally caused by the deceased.

• Undetermined death can be ruled when none of the above can be established with reasonable certainty.

Jurors convened for about 35 minutes.

When they returned, the coroner read that the jury was in agreement with the medical examiner's findings that the cause of death for both Williams and McGregor was due to injuries related to the crash.

For the manner of death, the jury declared "undetermined." for Williams.

The manner of death for McGregor was determined "accidental."

[LDN]