An East Alton woman died Wednesday after a one-vehicle crash Saturday in Crawford County, Mo.
Authorities allege the driver of the vehicle, Robert W. Siempelkamp, 28, of Palmer, Ill., was drunk at the time of the crash. He was charged Wednesday in Missouri's 42nd Judicial Circuit with involuntary vehicular manslaughter-intoxicated, a felony. Bond was set at $250,000.
According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, Taylor N. Pile, 21, was a passenger in a 2012 Dodge Ram driven by Siempelkamp. At 8:40 p.m. Saturday, the southbound vehicle traveled off the right side of the road on Highway H in Onondaga Cave State Park and struck a sign, embankment and tree before coming to rest in a ditch. Pile was pronounced dead at 1:36 a.m. Wednesday by a physician at Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur, Mo.
She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the report.
Another passenger, Bradon L. McConnell, 27, of Taylorville, Ill., suffered minor injuries and was not hospitalized. Siempelkamp was treated at the scene. Both were wearing seat belts.
According to her obituary, Pile was a senior at the University of Missouri St. Louis and was a member of the National Honor Society. She was the salutatorian at Roxana High School.
Private funeral services were scheduled at Elias, Kallal and Schaaf Funeral Home in Bethalto. A public memorial is in the planning stages.