One dead, three injured in head-on crash in Magnolia Township

One person was killed and three others were injured Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle head-on crash on Illinois Highway 18 in Putnam County, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday news release.

The crash occurred at 4:35 p.m. near County Highway 1150 East, according to the news release.

Anthony A. Herrera, 27, of Crest Hill, was driving eastbound on Route 18 and attempting to pass several vehicles when the vehicle he was driving struck a westbound vehicle driven by Mary T. Fitzmaurice, 67, of Downers Grove, police said.

Herrera and Fitzmaurice were both airlifted to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. A passenger in Herrera’s vehicle, Rivera Vasquez, 38, was transported by Lostant ambulance to OSF Center for Health in Streator, according to the news release.

Police said a passenger in Herrera’s vehicle, Elvis Escobar, 42, of Romeoville, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police Reconstruction Unit and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

Multiple agencies assisted at the scene, including the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Magnolia and Granville fire departments, PCEMS, Lostant EMS, Varna EMS, Illinois Department of Transportation, Life Flight, and the Putnam County death investigator.