Two dead in separate crashes on I-24 in Johnson County

Two people were killed and one person was injured in a pair of crashes early Friday morning on Interstate 24 near Goreville, according to the Illinois State Police.

Troopers responded around 6 a.m. near milepost 3 in Johnson County for reports of the first crash.

In the first incident, investigators said a car was disabled in the eastbound lanes due to an earlier accident. A semi sideswiped the disabled car, struck another car and hit a bridge support. The semi driver was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the disabled car was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries.

A short time later in the same area, a pickup truck rear-ended a semi that had slowed in traffic because of the earlier wreck. The driver of the pickup was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Both crashes caused eastbound I-24 in Johnson County to be shut down for several hours on Friday.

The Illinois State Police continue to investigate both crashes.