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WASHINGTON COUNTY — The Washington County Coroner has identified the driver of a fatal crash Friday morning on U.S. Highway 51 near Irvington as a 25-year-old Centralia woman.
Coroner Mark Styninger says Michelle Allen was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:50 a.m. Styninger says Allen was driving southbound in an older model Buick Enclave on Highway 51 around 6:22 a.m. at the Route 177 exit at Irvington when she appeared to miss the route 177 exit, continued south in the median eventually striking a tree where the vehicle became engulfed in flames.
Agencies assisting at the scene were the Washington County Ambulance Service, Irvington Fire Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Wamac Police Department, Illinois State Police and the Washington County Coroner’s office. Allen was extricated from the vehicle by the Irvington Fire Department.
The cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma secondary to thermal injuries. The manner of death is accidental. The case continues to be investigated by the Illinois State Police and the Coroner’s office.