NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• KICKAPOO – A fire destroyed a barn west of Kickapoo. At least $100,000 in damage was reported.
The blaze began about 6:45 a.m. Sept. 11 at the northeast corner of Princeville-Jubilee Road and U.S. Route 150, according to the Brimfield Community Fire Protection District. Fire consumed the 140-by-30-foot barn, which contained between 110 and 170 round bales of hay.
It took firefighters about 10 hours to extinguish the flames. No injuries were reported, although the barn was a total loss. The cause was undetermined. The hay bales were valued at about $80 each, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
Akron-Princeville, Chillicothe, Dunlap, Elba-Salem, Elmwood, Limestone, Timber-Hollis, Toulon and Wyoming-Speer firefighters assisted. The American Red Cross also responded.
• EDELSTEIN – A Princeville female sustained a lacerated left leg when her vehicle flipped in an accident south of Edelstein.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m. Sept. 1, Lindsey F. Day was driving a 2011 Honda Civic north on Illinois Route 40 when she attempted a left turn at Lake Shore Drive. A northbound 2017 Chevrolet Equinox driven by Steven D. Roberts of Peoria then rear-ended Day’s vehicle as he was passing another.
Roberts’ vehicle left the pavement to the east and rolled several times, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Day’s vehicle landed on its top at the northwest corner of the intersection.
An ambulance transported Day, who said she also had back and neck pain, to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Roberts complained about leg pain. An ambulance transported him to Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria. Both vehicles were towed.
• VICTORIA – A pair of Elmwood residents required hospital attention following a crash between all-terrain vehicles near Victoria.
The accident happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. Sept. 1 at the intersection of two trails at Hook and Bullet Conservation Club, 2153 Knox Highway 28, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.
Christopher M. Simpson, 32, of Elmwood was piloting an eastbound 1995 Kawasaki ATV when a northbound Polaris Trail Boss ATV collided with it. The other driver was Matthew A. Lowe, 48, of St. Charles, Mo.
Simpson drove himself and his passenger, a 9-year-old boy, to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Lowe drove himself and his passenger, a 12-year-old boy from St. Charles, to OSF Saint Mary Medical Center in Galesburg. All appeared to sustain minor injuries, according to the report.
• KICKAPOO – No injuries were reported following a two-vehicle collision west of Kickapoo.
The accident happened about 5:15 p.m. Aug. 31 at U.S. Route 150 and Philander Chase Lane. According to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report, a 2017 Toyota sedan Megan E. Kemp was driving struck a 2019 Ram van Derick L. Muh was driving. Both drivers are from Peoria.
Kemp said she was eastbound on Route 150 and attempting to pass Muh’s vehicle but did not realize Muh was turning left onto Philander Chase Lane. The front driver’s side of Muh’s vehicle was damaged, as was the rear bumper and rear passenger side of Kemp’s.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – Someone stole an enclosed cargo trailer from a Williamsfield residence, according to authorities.
The 2009 American Hauler 8½-by-28-foot red triple-axle trailer was reported missing about 1 p.m. Aug. 27 from the 100 block of N. Oak St., a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The 73-year-old victim said he last saw the trailer the previous night.
No suspect information was available, although a deputy noticed several footprints near where the trailer was parked. The trailer, which contained tools, was valued at $20,000.
• KNOXVILLE – A 10-year-old Dahinda-area girl required hospital attention following a two-vehicle head-on crash northeast of Knoxville.
The accident happened shortly before 6 p.m. Aug. 25 at Mine and Knox Station roads, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The girl was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Chad B. Dunbar, 36, of Knoxville.
A 2002 Chervolet sedan and a 2008 Jeep collided, although the report did not specify who was driving which vehicle. The girl and Dunbar were transported to OSF Saint Mary Medical Center in Galesburg. No information was available regarding their conditions.
Dunbar was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, improper lane use and driving with a suspended license.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – An Elmwood teenager was cited for passing a stopped school bus near Williamsfield. The 16-year-old girl was driving a dark-gray Chevrolet Impala that passed the bus about 3:15 p.m. Aug. 22 in the 1300 block of Illinois Route 180, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The bus lights were flashing and the bus stop sign was deployed.
A deputy spoke with the driver, who admitted she passed the bus but was unaware that was illegal. She was cited for improper approaching, overtaking or passing a school bus. Her parents said she will receive discipline and remedial driver’s education, the report stated.
• OAK RUN – An Oak Run man received multiple citations after he left the scene of a one-vehicle accident.
Shortly before 7 a.m. Aug. 20, a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy was summoned to the 1300 block of Knox Highway 7 west of Oak Run. The deputy found an unoccupied 2011 Ford F-150 pickup truck that left the pavement and overran a fence and a small tree.
According to a sheriff’s-office report, the deputy tracked down the vehicle owner, 35-year-old Rayvone D. Taylor. He said he was driving about 9 p.m. the previous night when he swerved to miss a deer.
Taylor was cited for expired vehicle registration and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. He also received a notice to appear in Knox County Circuit Court in Galesburg for failure to report an accident. The vehicle was towed and impounded.
• DAHINDA – Shortly after 1:15 a.m. Aug. 28, Lacy L. Strickfraden, 19, of Williamsfield was driving a 2000 Toyota Camry east in the 1800 block of U.S. Route 150 near Dahinda when the vehicle struck a deer. Strickfraden was uninjured, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained front-end and windshield damage.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – At 5 a.m. Aug. 12, Timothy E. Millard, 58, of Galesburg was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima east on Interstate 74 south of Williamsfield when the vehicle struck a raccoon that ran in front of it. Millard was uninjured, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained front driver’s-side damage but was drivable.
• YATES CITY – Joshua R. Bateman, 32, of Yates City was arrested shortly before 3:15 p.m. Sept. 7 and accused of failure to appear in court, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• BRIMFIELD – Braden D. Wagner, 27, of Brimfield was arrested shortly before 11:45 p.m. Sept. 6 and accused of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• YATES CITY – Chief Randy Benson reported the following Yates City Police Department activity for August: 21 reports, nine traffic stops, three citations, eight warnings, one open door and two ordinance violations.
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