Five people were hurt, four of them seriously, Sunday morning (May 15) in a two-vehicle accident on Hwy. 30 east of Calvey Creek Road in Dittmer, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reports.
Two of the people – a 46-year-old St. Louis woman who was driving one of the vehicles and a passenger in that vehicle, a 25-year-old House Springs man, were arrested following the accident, the report said.
The woman was arrested for alleged second-degree assault and possession of a controlled substance, and the man was arrested for alleged possession of a controlled substance, according to the report.
At 11:27 a.m., the St. Louis woman was driving a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta west on Hwy. 30, before the car crossed the center line and struck an eastbound van head-on, the patrol reported.
Daniel L. Barfield, 53, of Robertsville was driving the van, a 1994 GMC Vandura, the report said.
He and a passenger in the van, Kimberly S. Barfield, 46, of Robertsville, were seriously hurt. Another passenger in the van, Ali Barfield, 1, also of Robertsville, sustained moderate injuries, the report said.
Daniel and Ali Barfield were taken by North Jefferson County Ambulance to St. Anthony’s Medical Center in south St. Louis County, and Kimberly Barfield was taken by helicopter to Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur, according to the report.
The woman driving the car and her passenger also were seriously hurt and taken by helicopter to Mercy Hospital St. Louis, the report said.
Daniel Barfield was listed in satisfactory condition this afternoon (May 16), and Ali Barfield was treated and released, a St. Anthony's spokesman said.
The St. Louis woman was listed in critical condition, a Mercy spokeswoman said this afternoon.
However, the spokeswoman said there was no information available about Kimberly Barfield's or the House Springs man's conditions.
The highway patrol arrested the two from the car while they were at the hospital, according to the report.
When firefighters from the Cedar Hill Fire Protection District arrived at the scene, they immediately called for additional responders, said Fire Chief Terry Soer.
“We had multiple people trapped and called for additional rescue equipment,” Soer said. “It took quite awhile to do the extrication of some of the victims. We had to take the roof off one vehicle. It was quite an entanglement.”
In fact, the door was removed, the dash was spread and the roof taken off, he said.
Soer manned the landing zone as three helicopters came in to transport patients.
After victims were extricated and on their way to area hospitals, firefighters remained on the scene cleaning up until 1:50 p.m., Soer said.
In addition to North Jefferson County Ambulance, Big River Ambulance and Eureka Fire Protection District had ambulances at the scene, Big River Chief Gary Prasuhn said.
Emergency responders called helicopters from all three emergency medical air transportation companies to the scene – ARCH Air Medical Service, Air Evac Lifeteam and Survival Flight, Prasuhn said.
Everyone involved in the accident was wearing a seat belt, the patrol reported.
Both vehicles were totaled, the report said.