Our sources advised that the wait he had to undergo to be removed from the wreckage of his truck was a long one, and while rescue crews were working frantically to free him, it was too long of a wait: he suffered severed brain damage due to lack of oxygen from the way he was trapped.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends, who have kept us posted since last night.

The  truck driver was extricated from the truck late last night; we’ve not been told exactly how long it took, but it was longer than a half hour of work. Numerous unofficial sources (former family members, friends, etc) have confirmed the identity of the driver: Scott Goss. He’s currently in St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville in very serious condition. Our sources say your prayers will be greatly appreciated.

Here’s the original post:

POPE/SALINE Cos.—Details are sketchy but we’re learning of a single-vehicle crash on the Pope/Saline County line that happened at about 9:30.

The vehicle is an overturned semi; our sources are saying that a helicopter called to remove the driver from the scene had to cancel due to bad weather, so multiple first responders are on the scene, including Pope County Ambulance and extrication equipment.

Apparently as of about 10 p.m., the driver was still trapped. There’s been no word on his condition. Likely we won’t have anything until morning, depending on which ISP District (19 or 22) works it…if any of you are listening to scanner traffic, feel free to update.

Semi rollover on Rte. 34 in Pope County earlier today

POPE COUNTY— At approximately 1:45pm Today (Monday, Feb. 25, 2013), a semi truck on a coal haul rolled over and left the road resulting in a wreck approximately two miles inside the Pope County line on Rte. 34 on the “S” curves. Only one male victim, the driver, was involved in the accident. The driver refused care and walked away from the scene. Authorities are not certain on the reason or cause of the wreck at this time.

Keep checking back for more details if we get them.

William Foley

UPDATE

THE BODY IS THAT OF WILLIAM FOLEY, 55, WHO WENT MISSING FEB. 8 FROM DOWNER’S GROVE, ILL.

Click this to get to a link to the upstate story; apparently ISP is more willing to talk to upstate media than local. Here’s the original post from earlier today (12:15 p.m.)

POPE CO.—One of Illinois’ southernmost counties is currently dealing with a death investigation, according to authorities there.

Sources indicate that there was a body found “in a remote location” in Pope yesterday afternoon, Sunday, February 17, 2013, at about 1 p.m. Since most of Pope happens to be “remote,” and since today is a holiday and we’re having difficulty getting response from anyone involved in the investigation including Illinois State Police out of District 22 in Ullin (who are usually VERY helpful, so this is no doubt a result of the holiday today), the exact location remains unknown, as does any identifying info on the body (male or female, age, condition of the body, etc.)

We’ve put in calls to both the Pope County Sheriff’s Department (also usually very helpful, so it’s just a matter of a return call) and Dist. 22, so when we learn more, we’ll update…keep checking back.