5 died of exposure to chemical in central Illinois crash, preliminary…

Five people died from exposure to a chemical that spilled after a semitruck overturned in central Illinois, according to autopsies conducted Monday.

Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes said official results from the autopsies won’t be available for several weeks. The victims of the multi-vehicle crash in Teutopolis, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis, were Teutopolis resident Kenneth Bryan, 34, and his children, Walker Bryan, 10 and Rosie Bryan, 7; Danny J. Smith, 67 of New Haven, Missouri; and Vasile Cricovan, 31, of Twinsburg, Ohio, were killed.

The tanker traveling on U.S. 40 Friday night veered to the right to avoid a collision when another vehicle tried to pass it. It jackknifed, toppled and hit the trailer hitch of a vehicle parked just off the road, leaving it with a 6-inch (15-centimeter) hole in the chemical container, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crash spilled more than half of the tanker’s 7,500-gallon (28,390-liter)…