A 27-year-old woman was struck by car and killed when she stepped out of her vehicle on an Illinois highway.
The woman, identified as Kristine Humphrey in local reports, was standing in the roadway in the early morning of March 30 when a sedan struck her.
The accident was the latest in a recent spate of road deaths in the state that included two state troopers, one of whom was truck as she carried out a roadside inspection.
Illinois State Police Trooper Duane Chappell said in a news release that Humphrey was a passenger in a red Chevrolet Camaro that got into an accident with another vehicle, reported the Chicago Tribune.
Both cars were disabled by the impact and stranded in the center northbound lane of the Tri-State Tollway Interstate 294.
I-294 Illinois at the location where a 27-year-old woman was hit and killed on March 30, 2019. Screenshot/Googlemaps
When she got out of the vehicle, together with an unnamed 28-year-old man, they were struck by a black Honda Accord traveling north, according to the Daily Herald.
The injured drivers and pedestrians were taken to local hospitals, according to the Herald. Humphrey was pronounced dead about 10:05 p.m.
Her death was ruled an accident, caused by multiple injuries from a motor vehicle.
Humphrey’s death on Saturday morning was the fifth roadside death in three days in the state of Illinois, together with two state police troopers, a Cook County sheriff’s deputy, and another driver.
Trooper Brooke Jones-Story was killed on March 28, as she inspected a truck on Route 20 westbound, according to a statement by Illinois State Police.
“Trooper Jones-Story was outside her squad car when she was struck and fatally wounded when a truck tractor semi-trailer combination struck her squad car and the semi Trooper Jones-Story was inspecting,” said the report.
Trooper Brooke Jones-Story, who was killed in Illinois on March, 28, 2019. Illinois State Police Chicago Department
“Today is a dark day for the Illinois State Police family,” said Acting Director Brendan F. Kelly.
“This is the six-year anniversary of the death of another trooper, and now another brave soul, Trooper Brooke Jones-Story, has made the ultimate sacrifice for people of this state,” he said.
Jones-Story was a 12-year veteran of the state police.
A teenager who was driving with only a learner’s permit was charged in connection with the crash, which killed 51-year-old James G. Koch, an electronic monitoring investigator.
Trooper Gerald Ellis, who was killed in Illinois on March, 30, 2019. Illinois State Police Chicago Department
Two days later, another state trooper was killed on duty when a wrong-way driver struck his squad car head-on in the early hours on I-94 westbound as he traveled home.
Trooper Ellis was transported to a local area hospital with life threatening injuries, but died soon afterwards, according to a police statement.
An off-duty Cook County Sheriff’s officer was also killed near his home in Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune. A teenager who was driving with only a learner’s permit was charged in connection with the crash, reported the paper.
Simon Veazey
Freelance Reporter
Simon Veazey is a UK-based journalist who has reported for The Epoch Times since 2006 on various beats, from in-depth coverage of British and European politics to web-based writing on breaking news.
