A 5-year-old Texarkana, Texas, girl has been killed in a vehicle accident in St Clair County, Illinois.
The accident happened at 5:38 a.m., Monday on the Poplar Street Bridge on Interstate 55 in St Clair County, Illinois, according to a preliminary report from the Illinois State Police.
The child's name had not been released as of late Monday.
According to the report, a 2014 Peterbilt truck tractor hauling a large piece of aluminum on a flatbed trailer was traveling on Interstate 55 northbound at milepost .5, on the Poplar Street Bridge when for an unknown reason, the Peterbilt struck the concrete center median.
The piece of aluminum, which weighed about 34,000 pounds, became unstrapped and struck the rear of the Peterbilt. The force caused the Peterbilt to overturn on the driver's side. A 5-year-old girl that was riding in the sleeper berth of the Peterbilt was ejected from the truck. She was transported to an area hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. according to the report.
The driver, Janette Kirby, 44, of Texarkana, Texas and two other juvenile passengers were transported to an area hospital with minor injuries, according to the report.
No further information was available on Monday.
-Illinois State Police