Illinois crash victims had ties to Co-Lin
Published 8:41 pm Friday, June 4, 2010
A woman killed in a nine-vehicle crash on Memorial Day inIllinois was a former Copiah-Lincoln Community College employee andWesson resident, officials said.
Sheila Douglas, 61, most recently of Batesville, was with hermother, Juanita Hall, 80, and family friend Doris Mayo, 68, both ofSarah, Miss., and her sister, Anne Faust, 58, of Sardis, when theaccident occurred, said Coles County, Ill., Coroner EdSchniers.
Douglas, Hall, and Mayo were all killed in the accident when an18-wheeler ran into cars that were slowing for construction andcrushed the SUV that the women were traveling in, officials said.The accident occurred Monday on Interstate 57 near Mattoon,Ill.
The women were vacationing to see east-central Illinois’ Amishcountry.
Faust remains hospitalized in a burn unit in Springfield, Ill.,said Co-Lin Public Relations Director Natalie Davis. Her status isunknown.
Davis said Douglas was a secretary in the Career Tech Division atCo-Lin for several years, and left the school in 2005, when shemoved to north Mississippi.
According to Illinois State Police, the accident, which injuredanother 12 people, is still under investigation. Officials toldIllinois media outlets that the crash was probably caused by driverinattention.
There will be a double funeral service for Douglas and Hall onFriday at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Batesville. Davis saidin lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations.
“They asked people to make donations to their favorite charity,”said Davis adding that Douglas was much loved by herco-workers.