CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – An Illinois community gathered for a vigil to honor the victims of a deadly crash.
Three children and one teenager were killed when a driver rammed through an after-school program building near Springfield. People also set up a memorial at the YNOT after-school camp in Chatham, leaving flowers and stuffed animals near the hole in the building where the car plowed through.
Police said the driver drove through a farm field, jumped a road, and broke through the building. Not stopping until it hits a utility pole on the other side. Police identified the driver as Marianne Akers. They say they do not believe the crash was a targeted attack, although they said there was no indication she hit the brakes before the collision. Along with the four people who died, 6 people were hurt and one person was still in critical condition.
Local blood banks were called to meet the needs of Springfield, Illinois, area hospitals after the crash. Impact Life has nine locations in Iowa and ten in Illinois where people can donate blood. The blood center said that when tragedies like what happened in Chatham strike, donations from its distribution centers go where they’re needed.
John Roth of Luzerne has been donating blood for as long as he can remember.
“My parents always did, so I followed suit,” he said.
For him, it has always been a time to poke a little fun at the workers, but also do what he thinks is right. He knows the good his donations mean firsthand after his mother recently needed blood.
“She’s back,” said Roth. “Lives on a farm by herself, 95 years old. Stop and see her every night and get her mail.”
But even the donations in Cedar Rapids could be used when a tragedy strikes like a deadly Chatham crash.
Those donations, those blood components, come from the donors who gave blood in the days prior,” said Impact Life Public Relations Manager Kirby Winn.
Winn said the two local hospitals in Springfield requested blood components following the incident as a precaution. He said dozens of people flooded Springfield donation centers. With the end of blood drives at many schools until this fall, Winn said it was important to keep up a consistent schedule during the slow summer months.
“We aren’t as strong from a standpoint of collections as we are during a school year for instance,” said Winn.
He said the donations given in Cedar Rapids could stay local, even helping friends and loved ones, but also to those in their time of need. Whoever gets Roth’s donations was of no concern to him. He was just happy to help.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “It’s helping people, so wherever it goes is fine with me.”
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