A 5 vehicle car accident snarled traffic on I-55 on Friday afternoon that sent multiple people to the hospital. 48-year-old Robert Arnold of Mason City, Illinois was traveling south on I-55 near milepost 59 in Montgomery County. Vehicles driven by 46-year-old Amal Naik of Beaverton Ohio, 20-year-old Amareon Naudain of Springfield, 52-year-old Miguel Garcia of Katy, Texas, and 52-year-old Paul Vazquez from Eagle Pass, Texas were all traveling south at the same location.  All vehicles had slowed or stopped in traffic in a construction zone.  Arnold failed to reduce speed and struck the rear of Naik’s vehicle. 

This caused a series of collisions with all of the other vehicles. The roadway was closed for approximately 4 hours during the investigation. Arnold was charged with aggravated driving under the influence, driving while license revoked, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to wear a seatbelt, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

Multiple people went to the hospital with injuries including Arnold and Naik. Arnold’s passenger 50-year-old Angela Arnold was transported with serious injuries, 38-year-old Shane Baker who was also in the car, was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries, and 46-year-old Urui Purani of Schaumburg, a passenger in Naik’s car was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries as well. The crash is still under investigation.