SWANSEA, Ill. --An Illinois state trooper's vehicle struck and killed a carnival-truck driver whose convoy was stopped in a traffic lane on Illinois Highway 159 early Tuesday, authorities said.
The driver, James R. Gaskill, 46, of Monmouth, Ill., was pronounced dead at the scene, about 200 yards north of Emerald Drive. A State Police spokeswoman said Gaskill was among people standing near the row of eight to 10 northbound trucks that were stopped with their lights on in the center lane of Highway 159.
She said a trooper heading southbound below the posted speed limit didn't see Gaskill and struck him. Witnesses said Gaskill was running near the center line along the southbound lanes, the state spokeswoman said.
At that location, Highway 159 has a center lane for turning and four traffic lanes.
The accident occurred at 1:24 a.m. while the trooper was heading for the St. Clair County Jail in Belleville with a suspect in a drunken-driving case. The trooper, who was not identified, has been on the force for seven years.
St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone said Gaskill suffered chest and neck trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:20 a.m. Stone said he was the lead driver for the convoy of carnival trucks.
Monique Bond, the State Police spokeswoman, said the case remained under investigation, but she noted that the carnival trucks were "illegally parked" in the roadway. Stone said he would convene a coroner's jury to review the accident.
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
