SAUGET – Authorities have identified the man who was killed when the pickup truck he was driving slammed into a train early Saturday morning.
Jamarin Ballard, 39, of Cahokia Heights, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident on Mississippi Avenue (Illinois Route 3) at 4:30 a.m., according to St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. Ballard was driving a truck traveling south in the 3000 block of Mississippi Avenue when it crossed the railroad tracks and collided with a moving Union Pacific train.
The railroad crossing gates were down and flashing lights were activated when the collision happened, police said. When officers arrived, they found the truck and a train engine engulfed by flames.
The incident is under investigation, and authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash.
