An 18-month-old is dead after a fatal crash on Friday evening. The Christian County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal traffic crash that occurred on July 24th at 6:14 PM. According to the press release, 20-year-old Chase E. Gatons of Stonington was driving southbound on Christian County Township Road. At the intersection of 2000 East and 350 N. Road in Rosamond, Gatons vehicle failed to yield at the right away and was struck by a 2017 Dodge Ram pickup truck pulling a loaded trailer driven by 21-year-old Tyler A. Buerster of Noble. Buerster was heading eastbound when he struck Gaton’s vehicle on the passenger side.
18-month-old Knox Gaton, who was sitting in the rear passenger seat, was rushed to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis where he succumbed to his injuries. Gaton was pronounced dead at 1:02 AM Saturday morning. Knox Gaton was seated in a child car seat when the accident occurred. 24-year-old Jacob A. Bright of Taylorville was sitting in the front passenger seat and was thrown from the vehicle. Bright was airlifted to St. Johns Hospital in Springfield with critical injuries. Chase Gaton was taken to Pana Community Hospital with minor injuries. Buerster was not injured in the crash.
The Pana Fire Department and Pana ambulance, along with the Illinois State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit assisted with the crash investigation. That investigation is ongoing.
