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Teen who cut off tanker on Illinois highway resulting in crash, chemical spill: ‘My bad’

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Teen who cut off tanker on Illinois highway resulting in crash, chemical spill: ‘My bad’


A new report reveals a teen driver’s response to viewing dashcam footage of a September 2023 crash that resulted in a chemical spill and five fatalities.

The incident occurred on Highway 40 near Teutopolis, a village in Effingham County, Illinois, according to a summary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The driver of a Toyota minivan passed a tanker truck while both were traveling west on the highway.

“The passing maneuver was being conducted in a no passing zone and in the presence of oncoming traffic,” the summary states. The tanker truck “moved to the right to allow the Toyota minivan to complete its passing maneuver.”

The moment was captured on dashcam footage included in the investigation. According to the report, it resulted in the tanker truck − which contained an estimated 7,600 gallons of anhydrous ammonia −ultimately striking a utility trailer parked on private property. The chemical was released into the area.

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Per the NTSB, five people succumbed to chemical exposure, including three people at a nearby home and two other drivers. In addition, eight people were also hospitalized, and four others had “minor exposure injuries.” Hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the chemical is utilized as a fertilizer in agriculture, manufacturing, and refrigeration. Exposure can be deadly.

Accidents: Girl, 2, drowns during field trip to West Virginia resort: Reports

Teen driver responds to dashcam video during interview with authorities

Illinois State Police troopers interviewed the 17-year-old minivan motorist in October 2023. During the probe, they showed the teen the dashcam video.

“Oh, my goodness. Yep, totally my bad. Wow,” the teen stated to police. “Holy (expletive).”

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When asked to watch the footage again, the teen refused, adding: “I’ve honestly in the past had times when I just don’t use good judgment in judging like distances and whether I have enough time for something. So it doesn’t shock me, but obviously like the consequences of this like are no joke.”One of the troopers asked if the teen knew about the incident.

“Of course not. I told you that like three times. I had no idea. I thought — generally you would think, right, if you’re going along a road you would know if a truck flips behind you. There was nothing like audible,” the teen responded.

In the interview, the teen, an Ohio resident, explained that she was in the car with her mother and her brother, visiting her mother’s boyfriend in Illinois. The minor’s identity was not revealed in the documents.

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.

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4 shot in Rockford, suspect in custody; police ask public to avoid area

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4 shot in Rockford, suspect in custody; police ask public to avoid area


ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team

Saturday, July 18, 2026 11:43AM

ABC7 Chicago 24/7 Stream

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WLS) — Rockford police are investigating a quadruple shooting on Saturday.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

The shooting happened near Island and Clifton Avenues, police said.

Police said four people were shot. All injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening, police said.

The shooting suspect was in police custody.

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No other information was immediately available.

The public is asked to avoid the area as they continue to investigate.

Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Produce Recall Issued In Parasite Outbreak Hitting IL

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Produce Recall Issued In Parasite Outbreak Hitting IL


A number of Taco Bell locations have posted signs announcing they are “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall,” according to Detroit-area news radio outlet WWJ.

Taco Bell told the Post it would keep monitoring the situation and follow authorities’ guidance.

Taco Bell Lettuce Linked To Growing MI Parasite Outbreak: FDA

“Public health officials have not confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer,” the company told the Post. “While authorities continue their broader review, Taco Bell has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure.”

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In Michigan, where cases have been concentrated, media reports said notices were posted at some Detroit-area Taco Bell restaurants last week telling customers the chain was “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro-Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall.”





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Illinois GOP trails badly in midterm cash

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Illinois GOP trails badly in midterm cash


The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223K in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual end balance was $101K higher than it had reported the day before.

But that bit of found money was basically the end of the “good news” for the GOP last week.

Republicans no longer have a pet billionaire. Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin have fled the state. The legions of wealthy business titans who once contributed and raised money have either retired to sunnier climes or passed away. Several prominent party members have publicly shunned labor unions and their hefty political war chests, although the state GOP legislative leaders have at least tried to rebuild ties to trade unions and even the Illinois Education Association. But the heavily gerrymandered legislative map combined with the current political climate means they’ll mostly receive scraps.

And, yes, the House Democrats are struggling this month with scandals, including a state representative who resigned under pressure and another who was indicted. I’m not trying to downplay that at all. But Democrats have the national political environment, the local infrastructure and tons of cash behind them. The Republicans have little to none of that.

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The GOP’s gubernatorial candidate, Darren Bailey, raised $1.3 million in the second quarter, which ended June 30. That sounds like a lot, but he spent almost all of that on direct mail fundraising costs. The huge expenditures do give him a prospect list for future fundraising, but he ended the quarter with a mere $128K in the bank. That was still a whole lot more than the rest of the statewide ticket.

Attorney General nominee Bob Fioretti, a perennial candidate, raised $31K, spent $39K and had $28K on hand at the end of the quarter along with almost $15K in recent debt. Secretary of State candidate Diane Harris raised $6K, spent a bit over $4K and had a paltry $1,816.42 in the bank. Treasurer candidate Max Solomon, who ran as a write-in during the primary because the party failed to recruit anyone, raised less than $3K, reported no spending and ended the quarter with less than $8K. Comptroller candidate Bryan Drew raised $30K and received $47K in in-kind contributions from a company owned, ironically, by independent gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett, spent less than $3K, ended with $54K and had $25K in debt from earlier this year.

Man, that’s just downright pathetic.

But I suppose it doesn’t really matter anyway unless we see a massive sea-change in national opinion in the coming months or the federal government finds a way to not certify certain election results. Regardless of where individual candidates are at this moment, they’ll have the money to compete. Unlike the Republicans, the Dems do have a pet billionaire (JB Pritzker) and, I assume eventually for most of them, organized labor.

The Republican legislative leaders have tried to scrape and claw as much as they can, but they’re vastly outgunned. Senate Republican Leader John Curran raised just $75K in the second quarter. He spent $71K and reported having a bit more than $3 million in the bank. His caucus committee reported having $160K in the bank.

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Leader Curran has three Republican-held districts to defend in the Chicago media market that have all trended Democratic in the last three cycles. Depending how bad things get, he could be defending a couple, two or three more.

The Senate Democrats have a ton of money to do whatever they want. Senate President Don Harmon has about $20 million in his personal campaign account and $1.7 million in his caucus account.

Over in the House, Republican Leader Tony McCombie has at least four Democratic-trending or swingy districts to defend and just $1.3 million in her personal campaign account and another $363K in her caucus account so far.

In contrast, House Speaker Chris Welch had $11.4 million in his personal account and $1.2 million in his caucus account. Like Senate President Harmon, he has more than enough money already, but more is never enough when there’s so much out there, so those numbers will likely rise by November.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.

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