Danvers Man Pushing for Change after Fatal Accident
By: Jacob Long, WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: September 19, 2012
DANVERS - Bill Gross works overnights and had just gotten home early Sunday morning when he heard a car go by.
"I didn't think much anything of it because this is a somewhat heavily traveled road," he said.
But then Gross heard something that really caught his ear.
"All of a sudden I heard a couple of clunks. It was kind of muffled, but I heard it," he said.
So he hopped into truck and went to check it out.
"I see this car in the ditch, facing into the bean field with the lights still on," he recalled.
The closer Gross got, he said the more he could tell the car was upside down.
He said, "I turned my vehicle around and shined the lights the other way. I noticed there was a girl not moving."
That girl was 25-year-old Haleigh Hall of Carlock.
McLean County Coroner Beth Kimmerling said Hall died after she went off Old Peoria Road in the five thousand block (by Gross's house) and flipped her car.
Gross was first on scene and called 911.
"I did not know her. I never met her. But I don't think we should just let it disappear into the shadows. We need to really address this before it happens again," he said.
Gross wants to draw attention to this section of Old Peoria Road outside Danvers because he says it's "death trap."
"This sort of thing has happened before. I see crashes all the time, but we've never had anyone die before," he said.
Gross has lived in the area for 15 years and estimates he has personally responded to eight or nine accidents.
He said, "To see the faces of people over these years, it begins to open a person's eyes thinking maybe there's something wrong with this road. Maybe it's not just the people driving it."
The issue, he believes, is many people drive too quickly and don't realize an incline immediately connects with a curve.
Gross said a lot of crashes happen because people lose control and can't stop in time when they try to over-correct.
"Their car is not only going around a curve, they're lifting weight off the car. They're loosing traction," he said.
The result, Gross said," has been cars in peoples' yards and downed telephone poles.
"We've had utility companies out here to shut the power off to pick up lines out of peoples' yards," he said.
Now that a woman's died in this location, Gross is hoping it will be a wake up call to county leaders.
"I think if they saw every accident or potential accident that I've seen, maybe they would take a closer look at it," he said.
Some of his suggestions include straightening out the incline, installing street lights or adding guardrails.
He said, "I don't want Hall to die in vain. I really don't."
Kimmerling said this was the first fatality on Old Peoria Road in at least 12 years.
In terms of non-fatal accidents, Danvers Police and the McLean County Sheriff's Office did not immediately have statistics available.
Kimmerling said Hall might have been drinking before her death. She said the condition of the road will be part of her final report on the crash.
"I didn't think much anything of it because this is a somewhat heavily traveled road," he said.
But then Gross heard something that really caught his ear.
"All of a sudden I heard a couple of clunks. It was kind of muffled, but I heard it," he said.
So he hopped into truck and went to check it out.
"I see this car in the ditch, facing into the bean field with the lights still on," he recalled.
The closer Gross got, he said the more he could tell the car was upside down.
He said, "I turned my vehicle around and shined the lights the other way. I noticed there was a girl not moving."
That girl was 25-year-old Haleigh Hall of Carlock.
McLean County Coroner Beth Kimmerling said Hall died after she went off Old Peoria Road in the five thousand block (by Gross's house) and flipped her car.
Gross was first on scene and called 911.
"I did not know her. I never met her. But I don't think we should just let it disappear into the shadows. We need to really address this before it happens again," he said.
Gross wants to draw attention to this section of Old Peoria Road outside Danvers because he says it's "death trap."
"This sort of thing has happened before. I see crashes all the time, but we've never had anyone die before," he said.
Gross has lived in the area for 15 years and estimates he has personally responded to eight or nine accidents.
He said, "To see the faces of people over these years, it begins to open a person's eyes thinking maybe there's something wrong with this road. Maybe it's not just the people driving it."
The issue, he believes, is many people drive too quickly and don't realize an incline immediately connects with a curve.
Gross said a lot of crashes happen because people lose control and can't stop in time when they try to over-correct.
"Their car is not only going around a curve, they're lifting weight off the car. They're loosing traction," he said.
The result, Gross said," has been cars in peoples' yards and downed telephone poles.
"We've had utility companies out here to shut the power off to pick up lines out of peoples' yards," he said.
Now that a woman's died in this location, Gross is hoping it will be a wake up call to county leaders.
"I think if they saw every accident or potential accident that I've seen, maybe they would take a closer look at it," he said.
Some of his suggestions include straightening out the incline, installing street lights or adding guardrails.
He said, "I don't want Hall to die in vain. I really don't."
Kimmerling said this was the first fatality on Old Peoria Road in at least 12 years.
In terms of non-fatal accidents, Danvers Police and the McLean County Sheriff's Office did not immediately have statistics available.
Kimmerling said Hall might have been drinking before her death. She said the condition of the road will be part of her final report on the crash.
