Woman Killed When Semi Leaves I-80, Crashes Through Guardrail: ISP

MINOOKA, IL — A Florida woman was killed early Saturday morning after the semi-trailer she was a passenger in left the roadway, crashed through a guardrail, and continued into a ditch, the Illinois State Police reported.

The truck was traveling west on Interstate 80 east of Wabena Avenue in Minooka Township shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, police said. For an unknown reason, the truck, driven by James Leandre of Cape Coral, Fla., left the roadway to the right, the state police said. The truck crashed through the guardrail and passed through a ditch and into an embankment.

A passenger in the vehicle, identified as Mirlaine Leclerc of North Miami, Fla., was taken to Ascension St. Joseph Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the Will County Coroner announced on Monday.

The final cause and manner of death will be determined pending an autopsy and a police toxicology report, the coroner said. Leandre suffered minor injuries in the crash, police said.

Police said there is no more information about the accident, which remains under investigation.