JACKSON COUNTY - A Belleville man riding in the passenger seat at the time of a single-vehicle accident suffered major injuries.

Steven Arpin, 39, of Hecker was eastbound on Grand Tower Road at a high rate of speed about 7:30 p.m. Thursday when he traveled past Illinois 3 and into a ditch, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.

Mark Howard, 41, of Belleville was transported to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale by the Jackson County Ambulance Service and was later transferred to St. Louis University Hospital.

Arpin was not injured but was arrested for driving under the influence and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.