Three dead in morning airplane crash near Lincoln along Interstate 55

LINCOLN (Heartland Newsfeed) — Three people are reported as dead as a result of a small plane crash along Interstate 55 near Lincoln before 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Illinois State Police. The accident took place just south of the merge point with Interstate 155 at mile marker 126 at roughly 8:49 a.m., with the plane catching on fire shortly afterwards. The Logan County coroner declared them dead shortly after 11:15 a.m. Southbound traffic on I-55 was being diverted into Lincoln at Illinois Routes 10 and 121 to Business 55 with re-entry at mile marker 123. Traffic is blocked southbound until mid-afternoon. It’s not currently clear what type of plane was flown, where the flight originated from or what resulted in the crash.