Victim identified in traffic crash on U.S. Highway 51 April 1

MAKANDA, Ill. (KFVS) - On Wednesday, April 5, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office released the identity of the victim who died in a vehicle crash last weekend.

The victim, Gabriel T. Shubert, was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jackson County Coroner’s Office.

On Saturday, April 1, at around 10:30 a.m., the sheriff’s office responded to a single vehicle traffic crash on U.S. Highway 51 north of Rifle Range Road in rural Makanda.

The caller said a white Ford F-250 went off the roadway, struck a tree and the truck was on fire. The fire spread from the truck into a wooded area.

According to a release from the sheriff’s office, an investigation shows a white Ford F-250 was going northbound on the highway when it gradually departed the roadway to the right, went down into a slight embankment and stuck a tree. Shubert was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown a short distance from the vehicle.

The investigation is ongoing.