5 died of exposure to chemical in central Illinois crash, preliminary autopsies find

This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent.Five people died from exposure to a chemical that spilled after a semitruck overturned in central Illinois, according to autopsies conducted Monday.

The crash spilled more than half of the tanker’s 7,500-gallon load of anhydrous ammonia — a chemical that can burn or corrode organic tissue. Farmers use it to add nitrogen fertilizer to the soil, and it acts as a refrigerant in the cooling systems of large buildings such as warehouses and factories.Tom Chapman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Sunday that the remainder of the cargo had been removed and taken to a secure location as part of the board’s investigation.

Gina Willenborg, 36, and her husband, Jeff, were returning from an out-of-town wedding when a relative called about the evacuation. Willenborg said they were anxious to get home, where a babysitter was watching their three children, ages 7, 5 and 2. “We got that call that there are people passing out. You don’t know what’s true, what’s not, but we could start to smell something,” Gina Willenborg said. “We start freaking out and so I called the sitter and said, ‘Just go ahead, wake the kids up and just get out.’”“Everyone’s hearts are just broken,” Gina Willenborg said. People’s lives “have been taken and other people are going to be having long, lingering effects,” she said.

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