Local News
Motorcycle head-on crash results in death
By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer Wednesday, July 7, 2004 9:32 AM CDT
MATTOON -- A Cumberland County man died Tuesday morning from injuries he received when his motorcycle collided with a car Monday in Coles County.
Toledo resident Curtis Jaime Plummer, 33, was the second area resident to be killed in a motorcycle crash -- apparently while not wearing a helmet -- in less than two weeks. Coles County resident Jason T. Zang, 28, died June 29 following a single-motorcycle crash in Cumberland County.
Plummer was pronounced dead at 7:06 a.m. Tuesday at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, according to Champaign County Deputy Coroner Duane Northrup.
"It was my understanding he was not wearing a helmet, which correlates with the injuries," said Northrup.
According to the Illinois State Police, a 1985 Oldsmobile driven by Weslie Hankins, 37, of Moweaqua turned north on U.S. Route 45 near Lake Land College and "into the path" of the 2001 Harley-Davidson motorcycle Plummer was riding.
Plummer was transported by the Mitchell-Jerdan Ambulance Service to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon, according to the state police.
He was then transferred to the Urbana hospital, according to the coroner.
Plummer died from "traumatic head injuries" sustained in the crash, said Northrup.
Following the collision, Plummer's motorcycle was held upright by the caved-in front of Hankins' car.
Hankins was not injured, but was ticketed for allegedly failing to yield, reported the state police.
Eleven days ago, Mattoon resident Zang crashed his motorcycle on a rural roadway north of Neoga. He was likewise taken to Carle Foundation Hospital, where he died early the next day.
According to Cumberland County Chief Deputy Steve Maroon, Zang apparently was without a helmet when he was discovered north of the County Road 1300 North roadway.
The accident occurred at about 8:30 a.m., and is still under investigation.
A state police reconstruction team has been called to assist, said Maroon.
"We're trying to put the pieces back together again to see what happened," he said.
Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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