NEWS RELEASE
For further information please contact: Capt. Christian T. Ricks
Q09031 (573) 526-6115
September 2, 2003
EMPHASIS: Fifteen Fatalities Occur During Labor Day Weekend
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports there were 15 fatalities during the 2003 Labor Day holiday weekend. Last year, there were 10 fatalities during the counting period. During the 2003 counting period of 6 p.m. August 29, 2003 to 11:59 p.m. September 1, 2003, the Patrol investigated 365 traffic crashes including 201 injuries and 13 fatalities. The St. Louis Police Department investigated two fatalities, bringing the total to 15. Troopers made 153 driving while intoxicated arrests during the 2003 holiday weekend. Last year, troopers investigated 288 traffic crashes including 139 injuries. In 2002, the Patrol arrested 167 persons for driving while intoxicated.
Of the 15 fatalities, eight occurred in the Troop C, St. Louis area; three occurred in both the Troop D, Springfield area, and Troop G, Willow Springs area; and one occurred in the Troop F, Jefferson City area.
Four people died on Friday, August 29, 2003. Phillip P. Logan, 58, of Hartville, MO, and Darlene Lynch, 53, of Hartville, MO, died when the vehicle Logan was driving crossed the center line and struck another vehicle nearly head on. The crash occurred in Howell County on Missouri Highway 60 in Willow Springs, MO. Logan was pronounced dead at the scene by Howell County Coroner Lonnie Pruett. Lynch was pronounced dead due to injuries sustained in the crash on August 30, at St. Johns Hospital in Springfield. The three occupants in the other vehicle sustained moderate injuries. Logan was not wearing a seat belt; it is unknown whether or not Lynch was wearing a seat belt. Two of the three occupants in the car struck by Logan’s vehicle were wearing seat belts.
Corey M. Vandament, 17, of Festus, MO, died when the driver of the vehicle in which he was a passenger lost control of the vehicle, left the right side of the roadway, and struck a tree. The crash occurred in Jefferson County on Route TT north of Harness Road. Vandament was not wearing a seat belt. Vandament was pronounced dead at Jefferson Memorial Hospital.
Kevin M. Morrow, 32, of Neosho, MO, died when his vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway then struck a building and a utility pole. The crash occurred in Audrain County on U.S. Highway 54 in Laddonia, MO. It is unknown whether or not Morrow was wearing a seat belt. He was pronounced dead at Audrain Medical Center.
Five fatalities resulted from traffic crashes on Saturday, August 30, 2003. Amy J. Howard, 19, of Golden City, MO, lost control of her vehicle, ran of the south side of the roadway, went airborne, then overturned several times. The crash occurred in Jasper County on Route K east of Jasper, MO. Howard was pronounced dead at St. John’s Hospital on August 31, as a result of injuries she sustained in the crash. Neither she nor her passenger was wearing a seat belt. The passenger in Howard’s vehicle sustained serious injuries.
Wallace Petro, 83, of Peekskill, NY, died when he steered right to avoid a vehicle that had entered his lane. His vehicle then traveled off the south side of the roadway. Petro over corrected, causing the left side of his vehicle to strike the right side of the other vehicle. His vehicle then traveled off the roadway, struck an embankment, and overturned. The crash occurred in Franklin County, on eastbound Interstate 44 west of Missouri Highway 30. The driver of the other car was not injured and was wearing a seat belt. Petro was not wearing a seat belt.
Casey L. Galasso, 22, of Ballwin, MO, and Jason A. Faigle, 26, of Hillsboro, MO, died when the vehicle Galasso was driving skidded across the center line on a curve, ran off the roadway, and struck a tree. The crash occurred in Franklin County on Route K at Virginia Mines Road. Franklin County Medical Examiner Major Mike Copeland pronounced both subjects dead at the scene. Neither was wearing a seat belt.
The other fatality on August 30, 2003, was investigated by the St. Louis Police Department.
Five people died as a result of traffic crashes occurring on Sunday, August 31, 2003. Peter-Lene Johnny, 23, of Anderson, MO, died after she drove off the left side of the roadway and struck a culvert. The crash occurred in McDonald County on Missouri Highway 59 north of Lanagan, MO. She was not wearing a seat belt. Johnny died on September 1, at Freeman West Hospital in Joplin, from injuries sustained in the crash.
Claud Hicks, 81, of Fair Grove, MO, died when an oncoming car crossed the center line and struck his vehicle head on. The driver of the car that struck Hicks’ vehicle sustained minor injuries. Both were wearing seat belts. The crash occurred in Greene County on Route H north of Springfield, MO. Hicks was pronounced dead at the scene by Medical Examiner Investigator Tom Vandenberg.
James D. Bales, 71, of Ellington, MO, died when the vehicle he was driving ran off the left side of the road, went over a guard rail, struck a tree, and overturned. Bales was not wearing a seat belt. Coroner Jeff McSpadden pronounced Bales dead at the scene. The crash occurred in Reynolds County on Missouri Highway 21 at Ellington, MO.
Anthony A. Spurgeon, 25, of Festus, MO, died when the vehicle he was driving struck another vehicle in the rear. The crash occurred in Perry County on Missouri Highway 51 at McBride, MO. A passenger in Spurgeon’s vehicle sustained serious injuries; neither were wearing seat belts. Spurgeon was pronounced dead by Perry County Coroner Herb Miller. The driver of the vehicle struck by Spurgeon’s vehicle was not injured in the crash; he was wearing a seat belt.
The remaining fatality on August 31, 2003, was investigated by the St. Louis Police Department.
One person died as a result of a traffic crash on September 1, 2003. William A. Douglas, 23, of Perryville, MO, died when his car ran off the road, and he overcorrected. It then traveled off the other side of the road, went down into a ditch, struck an embankment, and overturned. The crash occurred in Perry County on Route B south of Route K. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. Perry County Coroner Herb Miller pronounced Douglas dead at the scene.