MORO TOWNSHIP, Ill. – Madison County Coroner Stephen P. Nonn has identified an Alton man who died Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 3, 2024, in a motor vehicle collision in Moro Township, Dorsey, Illinois. The victim, James H. Roberts, 67, of Alton, Illinois, sustained fatal injuries when his semi-truck was struck by a dump truck on Illinois Route 159.
The incident occurred near the intersection of North Deer Park Drive at approximately 3:28 p.m. Roberts was driving a semi-truck hauling rock southbound when a northbound dump truck, also hauling rock, crossed the center line. The driver of the dump truck reportedly applied brakes to avoid a fuel tanker that had stopped in the northbound lanes to make a left turn into a driveway.
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Emergency responders from the Dorsey and Prairietown Fire Departments arrived at the scene, and paramedics from Alton Memorial Ambulance transported the driver of the dump truck to a local hospital for treatment. Roberts was pronounced dead at the scene by Madison County Coroner’s Office Investigator Todd R. Ballard at 4:53 p.m. on Tuesday.
A preliminary autopsy revealed that Roberts died from blunt head, neck, and chest trauma. Routine toxicological tests are pending, and the final cause of death will be determined once all reports are complete.
The Illinois State Police and the Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit are investigating the cause of the crash. Further details will be provided as the investigation continues.
