Three fatalities reported in Missouri over holiday weekend

Three people died in Missouri traffic crashes over the weekend; none were in Vernon County, but an El Dorado Springs man was hurt in a one-vehicle crash on Friday and a Rich Hill woman suffered minor injuries in a Saturday crash in Montgomery County.

According to a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Gary D. Smith, 50, of El Dorado Springs was transported to Cedar County Memorial Hospital in El Dorado Springs with moderate injuries after the westbound 2002 Jeep Wrangler Smith was driving ran off the road, hit a ditch and overturned on County Road 320, 1 mile east of El Dorado Springs, at 4:20 p.m., Friday.

A Rich Hill woman suffered a minor injury Saturday morning in a three-vehicle collision on I-70 in Montgomery County, Mo. at 10:55. The patrol said 47-year-old Jennifer Tourtillott was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital West, near St. Louis, with minor injuries. A car driven by 20-year-old Madison Bock, Columbia, Mo., in which Tourtillott was a passenger, did not stop for two other vehicles that were stopped in traffic and hit a 1995 Chevrolet Lumina driven by 79-year-old James W. Vagedes, of Rhineland, from behind, pushing Vagedes' vehicle into the the rear of the third vehicle, a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Kenneth H. Stover, 59, of Manchester.

Patricia Vagedes, 73, was also transported to St. Joseph's Hospital West for treatment of minor injuries.

The Highway Patrol investigated all three fatality traffic crashes that took place over the weekend. Troopers investigated 365 traffic crashes, which included 125 injuries. In addition, troopers arrested 126 people for driving while intoxicated.

Of the three fatality traffic crashes investigated by troopers, one each occurred in the Troop C, Weldon Spring area; in the Troop E, Poplar Bluff area; and in the Troop H, St. Joseph area.

One fatal traffic crash occurred on Wednesday, Nov. 23. In that incident, Leonard M. Bass, 48, of Warrenton, died when the vehicle he was driving slid through an intersection, traveled off the east side of the road and struck a tree. The crash occurred at the intersection of Hickory Lick Road and North Hickory Lick Road in Warren County.

Bass was traveling at a high rate of speed; he was not wearing a seat belt. Warren County Assistant Coroner Roger Hellebush pronounced Bass dead at the scene.

Two fatalities occurred in crashes on Friday, Nov. 25. Dylan T. Simmons, 17, of Sikeston, died when the vehicle he was driving ran off the roadway and struck a tree. The crash occurred on Missouri Route H, 2.5 miles north of Blodgett, in Scott County. Simmons was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Scott County Coroner Scott Amick pronounced Simmons dead at the scene. A passenger in Simmons' vehicle suffered serious injuries in the crash; he was not wearing a seat belt.

Mary A. Carlock, 51, of Princeton, died when the vehicle she was driving traveled off the left side of the road and she over corrected. The vehicle then ran off the right side of the roadway, overturning an unknown number of times. The crash occurred on U.S. Highway 65 north of Princeton in Mercer County. Carlock was not wearing her seat belt at the time of the

crash; she was ejected from the vehicle. Mercer County Coroner Michael Greenlee pronounced Carlock dead at the scene.