A southern Illinois prosecutor says a freeway wreck that killed five van passengers from the Philadelphia area returning from a California ministry conference was a tragic accident and the driver won't be charged.
Fayette County State's Attorney Joshua Morrison says Malcolm Purnell of Camden, N.J. had no alcohol or illegal drugs in his system during the May wreck on Interstate 70. He was driving with a suspended license and was ticketed for improper lane usage.
Morrison says toxicology tests showed the 45-year-old had medications in his bloodstream, but those were given to him while he was hospitalized after the accident about 70 miles east of St. Louis.
The five people killed in the crash, all from Baltimore, were among 11 passengers in the van.
Police say the van, which had Maryland license plates, was traveling eastbound on I-70 near Vandalia, Illinois, about 70 miles east of St. Louis, around 9:45 a.m. Somehow, it left the south side of the roadway, rolled a number of times and ejected all but two of the passengers before finally coming to a rest. Police say five men were killed in the crash and six other people were taken to an area hospital.
Fayette County Coroner Bruce Bowen identified the victims as 54-year-old Emerson Baldwin, 53-year-old Andrew Canada, 42-year-old Antonie Mitchell, 52-year-old Mark William and 29-year-old Thomas Coleman. All five victims were from Baltimore, Md., according to Bowen.
Bowen called the scene of the crash among the worst he had seen in 13 years as a coroner.
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“It was a total disaster,” he said. “There were just bodies everywhere.”
Police said conditions were dry and clear when the van crashed.
