Tourist killed in downstate crash

CHENOA -- A German tourist traveling to Los Angeles on a motorcycle on historic Route 66 has been killed in an accident in central Illinois.

Authorities say 50-year-old Ralph Schwender died Monday in a collision with a flatbed semitrailer truck loaded with hay.

McLean County Coroner Beth Kimmerling in a statement said preliminary findings indicate Schwender was heading south on Route 66 when he failed to stop for the semi going east on U.S. 24. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Schwender was with two other motorcyclists from Germany when the accident occurred.

State police and the McLean County sheriff's department are investigating the accident.