Tuesday's accident victim identified | Local news

The Madison County Coroner's Office has identified the victim of Tuesday's crash near the intersection of Illinois 255 and Fosterburg Road. Melodye R. Fagan, 69, of Granite City, died when her vehicle left the road for unknown reasons, entered a ditch and up a hill, and struck a tree.

She was the sole occupant of the 2009 Ford Escape, which was traveling southbound on Interstate 255 south of Fosterburg Road. The car came to a stop in the 7000 block of Stutz Lane. The 9-1-1 call was received at 4:00 p.m. and death was pronounced at the scene at 5:05 p.m. Preliminary evidence at the scene indicates that the decedent died of positional asphyxia, although the final cause of death will not be released until the results of routine toxicology testing are available. The case remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police and Madison County Coroner's Office.