Macoupin County Illinois Car Wreck Leaves One Dead

Early Wednesday morning a Bethalto man was killed in a two-car accident near Fosterburg. The victim, William L. Gibson, 36, was driving around an “S” curve when ice and snow caused him to lose control of his Nissan Altima. The car went into a ditch on the right side of the road before Gibson over-corrected, causing the car to slide sideways into an on-coming Chevrolet Tahoe.

The driver of the Tahoe, Alton resident Adam C. Merkel, 28, escaped the accident uninjured along with his passenger, 6-month-old Emmett C. Merkel. Authorities say that Gibson was not wearing a seatbelt, causing him to be thrown into the backseat of his car upon impact. Both Merkel and his passenger were wearing their seatbelts at the time.

This time of year, winter weather conditions can result in an increased number of accidents. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) estimates that over 3,000 accidents a year occur in icy, snowy or freezing conditions.

If you or a friend or family member has been injured in an accident that is weather related, you may be entitled to compensation. Drivers have a duty to decrease speed to accomodate weather conditions regardless of the speed limit and often do not. Please call the injury law firm of WWF@G for a FREE CONSULTATION at 1-800-WWFGLAW.