The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by David Grimes, Quill Correspondent
OQUAWKA- The deaths of two Henderson County women late last year were ruled accidental by a six-person jury at a coroner's inquest Wednesday night.
Elizabeth Joy Moyers, 23, Biggsville, was reported missing Dec. 10, 2004, when she failed to return home after a trip to West Burlington, Iowa. She was found dead in her vehicle, a 1989 GMC sports utility vehicle, that was overturned and resting on its top in a ditch along U.S. 34 near the Gladstone junction.
The vehicle was reported by a truck driver on Dec. 13.
Moyers suffered from Marfan syndrome, a condition that affects the connective tissue of the heart and blood vessels.
Autopsy reports indicated Moyers suffered cardiac disrythmia while driving, possibly causing a temporary blackout before returning to consciousness. Moyers' vehicle crossed over to the westbound lane of U.S. 34 450 feet east of County Road 1150 East before returning to the eastbound lane and flipping onto its top in the ditch and landing in about 18 inches of water.
The report cited a combination of causes - motor vehicle accident injuries, hypothermia and drowning - as contributing to the Biggsville woman's death.
Weather conditions were rainy but not freezing at the time of the accident.
Prior to the Moyers' inquest hearing, the jury found that the Nov. 29, 2004, death of Eugenia Denis Willits, 41, Lomax, also was accidental.
Willits was traveling on the Stronghurst-Carman blacktop approximately 4 miles west of Stronghurst the morning of Nov. 29 after attending a concert rehearsal at Southern schools.
Two vehicles were ahead of Willits' Ford Aerostar van when Willets attempted to pass and hit a late model Sterling Burlington Northern Santa Fe work truck head on in the eastbound lane.
"I'm gonna get hit," the coroner's report cited Willets as telling friend Tony Penrod during a cell phone conversation as she drove to work at Faith Lutheran church and seconds before the crash.
The truck was estimated to be traveling at a speed of 40 miles per hour, Willets was traveling approximately 60 to 65 miles per hour.
An Illinois State Police report indicated the roadway was snow covered. Weather conditions that morning were snowy, slick and slushy, according to Henderson County Coroner Kris Beals.
Willets injuries included a crushed chest cavity and multiple blunt force injuries.