2004 Year in Review

Holiday Weekend Auto Accidents

Monica Wright's SUV after rolling over five times on Route 78 Friday.

Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department investigated a flurry of accidents over the holiday weekend. On January 1, 2004 at 2:10 am, deputies responded to a single vehicle crash on Prairie Center Road west of Morrison. Matthew K. Hoehn, age 21 of rural Morrison, drove the vehicle. Hoehn was apparently traveling too fast for a curve and lost control of his vehicle as it skidded out of control into a tree.

Hoehn and his passengers fled from the scene. At 6:30 pm Hoehn was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash and felony failure to report/leaving the scene of a personal injury crash. Hoehn was held at the Whiteside County Jail. Morrison Police and Rick’s Auto Body assisted at the scene.

Friday morning, January 2, deputies investigated a single-vehicle rollover, which occurred around 6:20 am. A vehicle driven by Michael Hatfield, 43 of Cordova Illinois, was west bound on Copper Road when he misjudged a curve because of foggy conditions and icy roads. Hatfield lost control of his vehicle. The vehicle left the road rolling over onto its roof coming to rest in a field. Erie Ambulance transported Hatfield to Illini Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Prophetstown Police and Erie Fire Department assisted the deputies.

A southbound vehicle driven by Monica Wright, age 17 of Morrison, left the roadway on Illinois Route 78 just north of Black Road January 2 around 8:30 am. The vehicle rolled over five times coming to rest in the middle of the highway on its roof. Wright and her passenger, Margo Pruis, age 18 or Morrison, were extricated from the vehicle by Morrison Fire Department and transported to Morrison Hospital by Morrison Ambulance. Both Wright and Pruis were wearing their seatbelts, which prevented major injuries.

Deputies also investigated a two-vehicle traffic crash on U.S. 30 west of Fulfs Road on Saturday, January 3. A vehicle driven by Michael E. Brown, 37 of Rock Island, Illinois, was eastbound on U.S. 30 when he apparently crossed the centerline and entered the path of a westbound semi driven by Peter A. Portner, 45 of Dixon, Illinois. Morrison and Fulton EMS transported both drivers from the scene to Mercy North Hospital, Clinton, Iowa. Brown was then airlifted to University Iowa Hospital. Fulton Police, Morrison Police, Illinois State Police, and Illinois Department of Transportation assisted Whiteside County. U.S. 30 was closed for approximately 3 hours.

All the accidents are under investigation.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
January 5, 2004