Head-on crash on US 54 sends four to hospital
Published 10:29 am Monday, July 27, 2026
PITTSFIELD — Four people were hospitalized after a passenger vehicle collided head-on with a semitrailer truck Friday evening on U.S. Highway 54 near Atlas, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office received a report of the crash at 7:54 p.m. Friday on Atlas Hill, about a mile east of Atlas. A preliminary investigation found that the driver of the passenger vehicle crossed the center yellow line and struck the front driver’s-side corner of the semi.
The driver of the passenger vehicle, Jaimie L. Rhode of Griggsville, and two passengers were taken to Illini Community Hospital before being transferred to other hospitals by ambulance. Poor weather conditions prevented medical helicopters from flying to the scene, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the semi, Michael R. Richardson of Robstown, Texas, was also taken to Illini Community Hospital, transported by law enforcement.
The crash remains under investigation. Sheriff David Greenwood said the following agencies assisted at the scene: Pike County EMS; the Pleasant Hill and Spring Creek fire departments; the Pittsfield Fire Department; Illinois State Police; the Illinois Department of Transportation; the Pittsfield Police Department; the Pike County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office; and the Pike County Emergency Management Agency.
