Updated: Interstate crash kills University junior

By Daily Illini Staff Report

A 20-year-old University student lost her life Monday night in an accident on I-57 between two cars and a semitrailer.

Katie McGuire, junior in Media, was driving north on the highway with passenger Danielle Johnson, a 21-year-old Parkland College student. According to an Illinois State Police report, McGuire lost control of her car, crossed the median and collided with a car and a semitrailer traveling in the opposite direction.

The crash took place at 11:08 p.m. Monday between Clifton Ill. and Chebanse Ill. in Iroquois County. It occurred because McGuire was distracted by a cell phone ringing in the car, the report said.

The police report stated that McGuire was pronounced dead on the scene. Johnson was seriously injured and taken to Riverside Healthcare in Kankakee, Ill. The driver of the other vehicle and the semitrailer were not injured.

McGuire was taken to the Kankakee County Coroner’s office, where an autopsy was performed, said Bill Cheatum, Iroquois County Coroner.

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Her funeral will take place at Smith-Corcoran Chapel in Chicago. The funeral home said McGuire’s family is still planning the details of when her visitation and funeral will occur.

McGuire was a waitress at Joe’s Brewery and a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, according to her Facebook profile.

The sorority is holding a private memorial in McGuire’s memory at 6:30 p.m. at the Alpha Delta Pi house, 1202 W. Nevada St., Urbana. There will also be a candlelight vigil in McGuire’s memory at 8 p.m. Wednesday on the Quad.

Keep checking dailyillini.com for further updates.

Hannah Hess and Marie Wilson contributed to this report.