Illinois State Police blame “failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash” for a car crash that killed three people early Thursday near Macomb.
Those pronounced dead are the driver, Gabrielle Yocum, 21, of Springfield (IL); passenger Cassie Roberts, 21, of Macomb; and Cedric Huffman, 23, of Bushnell.
A fourth person in the vehicle, Justin Beer, 23, was injured and taken to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He was in critical condition Thursday afternoon.
In a news release, State Police said the four were in a 2010 Jeep Wrangler. They were headed west on N. 900th Rd., about half a mile west of E. 1000th Rd. The vehicle left the road on the right side, drove through a ditch approximately 224 feet, then hit a tree and an embankment.
The release indicated all four were wearing seatbelts.
The crash happened at around 2:05 am.