UPDATE:
The victim has been identified as 89-year-old Harold Huffman, of Chilicothe.
____________________________________________________________________
PEORIA COUNTY — One person is dead after a 2-vehicle crash in rural Peoria County.
The accident happened in the 14700 Block of Old Galena Rd around 10:15 a.m. Thursday morning.
According to Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell, evidence at the scene indicated the northbound was vehicle driven by 51-year-old Thomas Hackett of Chillicothe, IL.
He was transported to OSF St. Francis Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
The victim of the southbound vehicle was reported as an elderly male in his late 80s and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The Coroner’s Office as of Thursday night had not yet released the deceased’s identity due to family notification.
Autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
Sheriff Asbell says that both vehicles were only occupied by drivers.
Hackett veered into the southbound lane of Galena Rd causing the crash, and was the at-fault driver.
He was cited for driving in the wrong lane.
“We are waiting for toxicology results to determine if there is any evidence of impairment,” said Asbell.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation by the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office and the Peoria County Coroner’s Office.