***Update at 4:55 p.m. June 5.***
A walking cane, shoe, shirt, mobile phone and personal shopping cart were strewn along a 30-yard stretch of Vandalia Street in Collinsville late Wednesday night at the scene of an accident in which a pedestrian was struck. The victim, Joe Merrifield, of Collinsville, has been pronounced dead.
The scene in the 1900 block of Vandalia Street in Collinsville where a pedestrian was struck on June 4 / Photo by Roger Starkey
The accident occurred at about 10:22 p.m. in the 2000 block of Vandalia Street, near the Orchard Shopping center. Merrifield, 69, of the 300 block of Summit Ave was taken to Anderson Hospital and later airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Merrifield, was crossing the street about 40 yards from a set of traffic signals. He was wearing dark clothing at the time, Lt. Todd Link of the Collinsville Police Department said.
No citations have been issued and the investigation is ongoing. The driver is cooperating with police, Link said.
A late model, compact pickup truck, with a large dent in the front, was parked on the side of the road, about 30 yards south of where the debris began. A man, presumed to be the driver, was in the back of a police car, but it is not yet known if charges will be filed.
A Collinsville Police Department accident scene re-creation unit was processing the area. Officers were not authorized to provide details of the incident.
This is one of the reasons why I thought the highway should never have been widened. Once it’s finished we will probably see much more of this.
Why aren’t they releasing age?!? There’s a Joe merrifield senior and junior! Something we kinda need to know!!!!!!!
Article update shows to be **Update at 4:55 p.m. June 5.*** . You wrote at 5:17Pm. There shows the age and if there wasn’t an age, a clue would be the walking cane. Hope that helps.
The amount of times I have almost hit someone crossing the street down by the Catsup Bottle is just staggering. I am honestly surprised this does not happen more often than it does. Condolences to the family.