A pair of Monmouth residents are dead after the vehicle in which they were riding crashed into a Viola residence that resulted in a fire, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department reported in a news release.
The crash occurred at 3:58 a.m. Saturday on U.S. 67 just south of Illinois 17.
Mercer County Sheriff’s Detective Anthony Baugh said deputies were sent to the house for a report of a motor vehicle crash.
Deputies found that a vehicle had struck a residence, causing a fire.
Both occupants of the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. Mercer County coroner Greg Larson has confirmed Margarita Meza, 21, and Christian Cortez-Rogel, 22, both of Monmouth died. Cortez-Rogel was the driver of the vehicle.
The occupants of the residence were not injured.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department.
The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus contributed to this report.
