Sterling man, 87, dies after hitting pickup head on Friday south of Buda

PRINCETON – An 87-year-old Sterling man was killed Friday around 2:30 a.m. in a head-on collision on state Route 40 south of Buda, Bureau County officials said.

According to Bureau County Sheriff Jim Reed, William Chapman was southbound when his van crossed the center line and hit a northbound pickup truck.

Chapman died at the scene.

The pickup driver and passengers were treated at several area hospitals, including OSF St. Clare in Princeton, the sheriff’s department said.

Chapman was a retired teacher and part-time administrator who taught at what was then East Coloma Elementary School in Rock Falls from 1959 to 1993.

He met his wife, fellow teacher Carol Jean Chapman, when she took her first teaching job there. They married the day after Christmas in 1959, and were married 62 years when she died on April 12, 2022.

Among others, Chapman is survived by his son, Will Chapman of Glen Ellyn, and daughters Teri Valentine of Barrington and Mindi Van Zee of Lafayette, Colorado.

Schilling Funeral Home in Sterling is handling arrangements.

Editor’s note: This story erroneously included County Coroner Janice Wamhoff as having confirmed Chapman’s name; she did not, Wamhoff retired on Dec. 31.