3 dead, 1 critically injured in Belleville 2-vehicle crash

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Illinois State Police say three people are dead after a two-vehicle, head-on crash in Belleville.

The Belleville News Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/2hgpv0M ) that police identified the victims as 48-year-old Salem Alejandro of Belleville, 74-year-old Jerilyn Hess of Columbia and 42-year-old Christopher Craig of Columbia.

Illinois State Police Trooper Calvin Dye Jr. says Alejandro's vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic Friday afternoon, striking the vehicle that Hess and Craig were riding in. Donald Hess of Columbia was driving that vehicle. The 74-year-old Columbia man survived and Dye says he was in critical but stable condition at a St. Louis hospital.

Police say the cause of the crash is under investigation.

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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com