JEFFERSON COUNTY — It is with great personal heartache and sadness that I have to report the death of a wonderful young man and Marion County Correctional Officer who was involved in a traffic crash this morning while transporting prisoners on Interstate 57.

According to the Illinois State Police, 22-year-old correctional officer Adam S. Conrad, of Sandoval, was driving a Marion County Sheriff’s Office van southbound on the interstate, when just before 8 a.m. he lost control of the van on the snow covered roadway, and the van began to spin.

The van entered the median, crossed over into southbound traffic and into the path of a Peterbilt semi-truck pulling a flatbed trailer and driven by 46-year-old Donald D. Chambers, of Springville, Ind.

The front end of the semi struck the van on its passenger side causing heavy damage to both vehicles. The semi jack knifed, coming to rest on the right shoulder and in the right lane, and the prisoner transport van came to rest in the left lane ahead of the semi.

Adam and a 17-year-old juvenile male prisoner, of Salem, in the van had to be extricated. They were transported by ambulance to SSM St. Mary’s in Mt. Vernon, where Adam died. The juvenile suffered serious injuries. The driver of the semi was uninjured.

In addition to being a correctional officer, Adam was a volunteer firefighter with the Sandoval Fire Department.
Traffic was diverted off of I-57 southbound for crash investigation, reconstruction and scene clean-up for approximately 6 hours.