82-year-old killed in Mattoon nursing home crash identified

MATTOON, Ill. (WAND) - The 82-year-old woman killed after a vehicle drove into a nursing home facility in Mattoon has been identified.

According to a sworn statement, Mattoon police found Sharon L. Harpster pinned between a wall and a bed in the rubble after a vehicle driven by Curtis A. Meadows crashed through the Odd Fellow-Rebekah Home.

Harpster was alive and conscious when police found her, shortly after Harpster was freed from the debris, she was pronounced dead.

In a sworn statement police stated they also found an 86-year-old woman pinned underneath a bed and the front of the vehicle. The 86-year-old was airlifted to Carle Hospital where she remains in critical condition.

Meadows was arrested on suspicion of aggravated DUI. Police said in the sworn statement Meadows admitted to having smoked "a couple of hitters" a few hours before the crash.

An officer on the scene reported Meadows had red, glassy, watery, bloodshot eyes, puffy eyelids, and a dry mouth.

Meadows claims he was unconscious at the time of the crash. Police say he drove approximately 335 yards in mostly a straight line from turning southbound on S. Logan St. before hitting the building.

According to the sworn statement, once the vehicle struck the exterior of the building, it traveled 20 feet into the building causing massive structural and interior damage.

Meadows was denied pretrial release on Tuesday. He's due back in court Monday, May 12 for a preliminary hearing.