3 dead, including 2 children, in southern Illinois crash

METROPOLIS, Ill. (AP) - Authorities say three people are dead, including two young children, following a multi-vehicle crash in southern Illinois.

State police say 23-year-old Rachel E. Killian of Marion was on northbound U.S. highway 45 in Massac County on Thursday when she went off the right side of the road. Police say she overcorrected, swerving into oncoming traffic and colliding head-on with a car. An SUV hit that car.

Police say Killian and a 1-year-old in her car were pronounced dead at the scene. The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale reports a 3-year-old in Killian's car later died. Other passengers in Killian's car were taken to a hospital in Paducah, Kentucky. The driver of the other car had serious injuries.

All lanes of U.S. 45 were closed for more than three hours afterward.

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com