Woman slips, falls into Illinois creek after crash, dies

WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) - A central Illinois woman who was found dead last week near a creek succumbed to exposure after she fell down an embankment following a car accident, a coroner says.

Nanette Seacrist, 57, of Washington was pronounced dead last Friday after several children found her body near a creek, Tazewell County Coroner Charles Hanley said Monday.

An autopsy performed Monday showed that Seacrist died because of exposure to cold weather. Toxicology tests were pending.

Hanley said that after the vehicle Seacrist was driving near her residence slid into a tree and became stuck, she left the vehicle, slipped and fell down the embankment, probably last Thursday night.

'Å“It was just some bad circumstances that kept on escalating. It's just unfortunate," Hanley told the (Peoria) Journal Star.

The coroner and Washington city police and Illinois State police continue investigating Seacrist's death.

Washington is located immediately east of Peoria.