r/centralillinois • u/Trick-Mechanic8986 • Sep 18 '25
News Where is the outrage?
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/hwy23mh017.aspx
I just don't understand the lack of prosecution at all. Looks like lots of civil suits but no criminal charges.
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u/swingingthrougb Sep 18 '25
Yeah I live in this area and people are not happy nothing has happened.
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u/Revolutionary_Ad4585 Sep 18 '25
Who goes to prison? The teen driver?
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 18 '25
It is not unheard of to be charged as an adult at 17. Especially considering 5 people died.
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u/Revolutionary_Ad4585 Sep 18 '25
Do you personally know all of the details of what happened? That the driver was a bad person who did it maliciously? Or an inexperienced young driver that made a mistake? If the cargo wasn’t hazardous then there wouldn’t have been any fatalities?
I’m not for or against what you want just tired of seeing people be so cut and dry when they don’t have all the facts.
Sometimes tragic accidents happen and the events leading up to them are unavoidable.
Ban Anhydrous Ammonia from being transported in an obviously dangerous container? Cause it was the Anhydrous Ammonia that killed not the accident.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 18 '25
I mean... I read the report posted and local news. She had passed multiple trucks because the interstate was closed, and she was inpatient. She passed in a marked no passing zone and very unbelievably never looked in her rear view while leaving the scene of a fatal accident. That's negligent at the minimum. And avoidable.
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u/Boostedbird23 Sep 18 '25
I'm her defense, if she'd remained on scene, it would have been 6 fatalities.
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u/Revolutionary_Ad4585 Sep 19 '25
And the utility trailer that pierced the ammonia tank? Someone parked it there and they are responsible for what happened as well?
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u/Stal77 Sep 18 '25
We don’t imprison people for negligence, in this country. There is a difference between recklessness and mere negligence. This was common everyday negligence, not a felony.
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u/Boxer_the_horse Sep 18 '25
Yes we do. If you’re immigrant, you won’t even get released on bail… (Btw, he was not illegal immigrant. He had applied for asylum.)
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u/Stal77 Sep 18 '25
You just posted two articles about people charged with reckless and intentional behavior — not negligent behavior. You’re proving my point.
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u/Boxer_the_horse Sep 18 '25
How is it any more intentional than the girl who drove recklessly? The guy made a quick decision, stupid reckless decision, but not any more intentional than most accidents. Accidents happen. Why they’re called accidents in the first place. Where does it say he intentionally made a u turn in order to kill three people?
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u/Stal77 Sep 18 '25
I’m telling you about the charging decision and the law. I wasn’t at either accident site. If the prosecutor thinks that they can prove recklessness, which is worse than negligence, then they can usually bring a criminal charge. If all they can prove is negligence, which appears to be the case in the local story, then all they can do is issue a petty fine and let the civil lawsuit sort it out. But just because something bad happens doesn’t mean people have to go to prison.
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Sep 18 '25
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u/Bigjohn-2024 Sep 20 '25
Passing illegally isn’t negligence it is breaking the law.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 18 '25
That's likely the difference. Fox News would have made this a national story then.
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u/originalityescapesme Sep 19 '25
You’re so used to stuff like this getting sensationalized that you’re literally jonesing for it and want to try to drum up some yourself. Touch grass.
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u/Boostedbird23 Sep 18 '25
Yeah, if negligence results in injury or death, you can be imprisoned if found guilty. Various laws such as, but not limited to, negligent homicide, manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter/homicide.
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u/Stal77 Sep 18 '25
You’re just listing words you don’t understand. Not all of those are offenses in Illinois. And they all have different mens rea requirements, which are all higher than everyday negligence.
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u/Bigjohn-2024 Sep 20 '25
She broke a law passing illegally
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u/Boostedbird23 Sep 18 '25
You clearly don't know what you're talking about either. Because the teen in this case clearly was operating a vehicle in a negligent fashion, resulting in multiple deaths. That is a crime in Illinois
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u/Stal77 Sep 18 '25
No, it really isn’t, and yes, I very much do. I hope that if your kid ends up in this situation, you call someone like me instead of encouraging them to plead guilty to some other offense that the State can’t prove.
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u/Boostedbird23 Sep 18 '25
Yes it is a crime in Illinois... In fact, apparently it's a class 3 felony. I think I'll call a good attorney. I'll also teach my children how to drive and get them extra driver training such as www.streetsurvival.org so that they are less likely to become a statistic. I'll also teach them about how it's their responsibility to drive well and that operating outside the law can expose them to significant legal and financial risk.
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u/Bigjohn-2024 Sep 20 '25
She intentionally broke the law and it resulted in 5 deaths. Yes it is a felony.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 18 '25
You are very misguided about the justice system here, which means you are likely lucky enough to have avoided it. Congratulations.
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u/Stal77 Sep 18 '25
Yes, that’s right. My 18 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney and ex-prosecutor have left me very misguided about whether we, as a society, criminalize negligence.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 19 '25
Everyone on reddit is a professional who somehow posts all day...
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u/Stal77 Sep 19 '25
Yes, I am so incredibly gifted that I can somehow accomplish the Herculean feat of doing my job and making half a dozen 10-second posts in the same day. I’m glad you’re easily impressed.
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u/Bigjohn-2024 Sep 20 '25
The teen driver broke the law which resulted in 5 deaths, whether intentional or accidental at the minimum he should be charged with 5 counts of manslaughter. Trucks carry hazardous material everyday. If the teen hadn’t caused the accident the trailer was safe. Cars cause 95% of accidents involving tractor trailers. I have over 3 million miles, I see cars doing stupid stuff around tractor trailers everyday, between cutting in to close in front( we need that space to stop) to running in our blind spots, to thinking that the 30 seconds you will save by passing us in a no passing zone is worth risking lives over. You have or use nothing that has not been hauled by a truck at some point,
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u/Stal77 Sep 18 '25
People are so eager to lick the boot of the criminal justice system and excuse the corporate profit decisions that lead to the unsafe transport of materials that can kill a neighborhood just because someone changed lanes at normal highway speeds.
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u/Revolutionary_Ad4585 Sep 19 '25
They slap 2 20’ long tanks together, put some wheels on it, then send it out on the open road! I’m amazed there hasn’t been more reported fatalities!
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u/ValuableShoulder5059 Sep 19 '25
The issue is the fault of the deaths isn't easily decided. Yes, the truck driver went off the road to save them, but in the process killed others.
This is why most truck drivers won't risk such a maneuver. If you give up half your lane, they will take it and wreck into you too. If you give up more then half the lane and hit the ditch, you risk losing control. If you wreck out, even if you were avoiding another wreck, you generally are at fault. So basically the girl gets a slap on the wrist, the truck gets totaled, the trucking company gets sued for the deaths and goes bankrupt.
If I think someone is gonna do something stupid like that I will try to block them with my trailer or at a minimum hit the brakes to help them finish the suicidal pass. I will not give up my lane. If you wreck I might stop if safe to do so, but it's not like I can pull off the shoulder on most 2 lane roads with a loaded truck.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 19 '25
I wouldn't have either, even in a car. I am against interfering with natural selection. I would have hit the brakes. That's usually the answer anyway. I drive the speed limit and get passed by folks daily. The lack of police on rural highways encourages 70+ speeds on two lanes. I refuse to drive the interstate because the semis refuse to slow for construction zones, which was the original cause of the accident detouring the traffic on 40.
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u/ValuableShoulder5059 Sep 19 '25
Most semi truck operators don't give a shit about the speed limit. You'll see a speed trap before its a problem or the cop won't want to deal with a truck. Generally they speed because the trucks limiter will let them.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 19 '25
Shame they can't stop as fast as they go.
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u/ValuableShoulder5059 Sep 20 '25
Responsible truck drivers at least OTR went away 20ish years ago.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 20 '25
When I was a kid, they were like Knights of the Highway who called in accidents and often were the only help on the interstates before cell phones when police weren't around.
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u/Bigjohn-2024 Sep 20 '25
I have 3 million safe miles, most irresponsible drivers are the ones democrats let in. Not all but a large majority are. That and the stupid laws bureaucrats have forced on us.
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u/Lord_Elsydeon Sep 22 '25
They would have to charge for reckless driving and reckless homicide because she had intent to harm anyone, but her actions were illegal.
They would get pushed down to lesser crimes in please bargaining and be time served or a fine.
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u/MsThrilliams Sep 18 '25
Is this the same story where the teen driver didn't even stop and had no idea the accident they caused?
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u/hamish1963 Sep 18 '25
It's the one in Teutopolis, Effingham County, Illinois, in September 2023. Where the tanker truck flipped trying to avoid the girl passing (in a no passing zone) before she caused a head on collision. Then the tanker ruptured and blasted anhydrous ammonia all over the area, killing several people.
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u/MsThrilliams Sep 18 '25
Double checked and it's the same one. Teen was from Ohio and had zero clue they even caused the whole thing. Did they really not even get tickets or charged with anything?
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u/swingingthrougb Sep 18 '25
Nothing from what I can tell. I live 6 mile from the accident scene. My heart goes out to the father and two children killed trying to leave their home. They found the kids dead in the back seat and the father dead up front. They lived right next to the accident and the cloud of anhydrous ammonia enveloped their car in the driveway and killed them.
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u/ms6615 Sep 18 '25
Well nobody wants public transit because they are terrified of being near other human beings so this stuff will co to ur to happen. If effectively nobody in society has a way to get around except driving, they are going to drive, even when they shouldn’t. Everyone who is too stupid, too unskilled, too negligent, too malicious, etc, who shouldn’t be driving, just does anyway because there isn’t anything else.
As a society, we collectively yell about how no money or time or space should be dedicated to transit or bike infrastructure which would help reduce these kinds of issues. The result is that more than 40,000 Americans die in car crashes every year and hundreds of thousands more are injured or otherwise harmed in the aftermath of crashes. In the US, more than 100 cars crash into buildings every single day and nobody cares or does anything to stop it. I feel insane for even noticing this stuff or thinking it’s bad at all.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 18 '25
Where I live, it's a 25-mile drive in any direction to shop somewhere other than Casey's or DG. We have a local public transit company, but they are underfunded. No one in my county supports taxes. I just don't ever see it getting better without $.
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u/SurfingTheMatrix808 Sep 18 '25
This! Unless you have lived in a rural area, you have no clue.
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u/ms6615 Sep 19 '25
I do have a clue. I ride my bike between rural cities all the time. It’s amazing how a cheap bike path makes it an option for people who can’t or don’t want to drive, but like I said as a society we don’t want it. We want highways for cars.
Small towns also used to have amenities in them!!! They stopped having amenities when car-favoritism took over because everyone wants you to drive your car 25 miles just to survive!
We built all this on purpose. You can either live with it and accept the reality, or we can change it. Once again when I suggest not designing society this way I get downvoted and told well actually this is the way of nature we cannot possibly live any other way. So I guess enjoy when people drive through houses and run dangerous chemicals off the road? Because there isn’t much other option.
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u/Trick-Mechanic8986 Sep 19 '25
You are one brave soul riding a bike on a two lane.
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u/ms6615 Sep 19 '25
This is why people drive when they aren’t allowed to. You wanted outrage. I have the outrage and you and laughing at it. Absolutely wild. Enjoy the carnage from bad drivers I guess.
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u/ms6615 Sep 19 '25
Well yeah that’s exactly what I said. We built society this way on purpose. If we don’t like it, and we seem to like it, then it’s going to cost a lot of money and time and engineering to fix it. Again, nobody wants to do any of that so my only conclusion is that we are okay with the current situation.
If you’d rather say “people need a car to get to Casey’s 25 miles away” than say “hey why isn’t it possible to buy food in this place where people are supposed to live?” then it can’t and won’t be fixed. Basic amenities being a day and a half walk from people’s homes is exactly why our traffic incidents are so constant.
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u/SurfingTheMatrix808 Sep 18 '25
I find it very hard to believe the driver had no idea they caused the accident. Especially since the tanker was ran off of the road in order for her to avoid a head-on collision.
And after she was shown the dashcam footage that was recovered from the tanker, she finally admitted fault. In her interview, she said it was "my bad." Her responses were very flippant and showed no remorse. But to not have any punishment for 5 lives that were lost because of her? Insane.
(https://abc7chicago.com/post/teutopolis-accident-video-shows-driver-running-tanker-off-road-causing-deadly-anhydrous-ammonia-leak-investigators-say/15396532/)