Two-Vehicle Crash Sends One Car Into Lake at Prairie Lakes Park

Update: According to new information released by Mascoutah police, Dauber had been traveling eastbound on State Route 177 behind Trahan. Police said Dauber attempted to pass Trahan, struck the rear of her vehicle and then lost control, sending his vehicle into Prairie Lake. No injuries were reported. Dauber was cited for improper lane usage and improper passing on the left.

MASCOUTAH — A two-vehicle crash Tuesday night sent one car into a ditch and another into the lake at Prairie Lakes Park, also known as the Mascoutah Reservoir and Mascoutah Lake, according to the Mascoutah Fire Department.

The crash happened around 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, near 1446 W. Main St. Several 911 callers reported that a vehicle had gone off the roadway and into the water, and early reports raised concerns that the driver might be trapped.

Fire crews from Units 3511 and 3510 arrived at 7:50 p.m. and found a vehicle partially submerged in the lake. The driver, identified as Brenden L. Dauber by fire department records, was already out of the vehicle when firefighters reached him. He exited the water on his own and was found on shore. According to the records, he was uninjured.

A second vehicle involved in the crash was found in a nearby ditch, which was driven by Amberly B. Trahan, who was also uninjured and waited for her father to pick her up from the crash location.

Both vehicles’ occupants reported minor injuries and later declined transport when evaluated by Mascoutah EMS.

 

 

Fire personnel stabilized the vehicles and set up traffic control until the scene was cleared at 8:05 p.m. Weather conditions were clear with temperatures in the low 40s and light southwest wind.

The submerged vehicle was recovered the following afternoon. According to an interview with Lonnie Casey, owner of Lonnie’s Tire and Auto, his company was contacted through St. Clair County after first responders were unable to retrieve the vehicle on the night of the crash.

“They needed someone who could come back when conditions were safer,” Casey said. “The car was too far down and they couldn’t get to it that night.”

The recovery took place Wednesday, Feb. 25, with assistance from O’Fallon Underwater Recovery, a nonprofit dive team. Casey said the vehicle’s location made the work challenging, sitting off the embankment and behind a layer of shoreline rock.

“That was a tough one,” he said. “You have to take your time with recoveries like that, especially in deeper water.”

Casey said he rarely conducts recoveries from Prairie Lakes Park. “Most of the underwater work I do is during flooding on 10th Street,” he said.