Sheriff’s Office Reports Train Fatality Update

On Saturday, April 25, 2020, at about 12:35 p.m., Whiteside County Deputies responded to the railroad crossing at Moline Road and Smit Road due to a traffic crash involving a train vs passenger vehicle.  The male driver, Robert J. Merrill, age 65, of Erie, IL, was northbound on Smit Road near the Moline Road railroad crossing when an eastbound Burlington Northern train struck the vehicle on the driver’s side door.  Robert was pronounced dead on scene by the Whiteside County Coroner’s Office.  A 16-year-old daughter was the front seat passenger.  She was airlifted from the scene by Medforce to Iowa City, IA, for life-threatening injuries.  As of Monday April 27, she remains in serious conditon at Iowa City Hospitals.  The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by Erie Fire/EMS, Erie Police Department, and the Illinois State Police.  The crash remains under investigation by the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office.  Sheriff Booker offers his thoughts and prayers to the Merrill family.