Two 25-year-old men, one from Grubville and the other from Belleville, Ill., were injured in a crash after trying to avoid hitting an animal on Hwy. 30 west of Township Lane in Dittmer, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
At 1:10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4, Kirsten N. Dopirak of Grubville was driving a westbound 2019 Hyundai Sonata when she reportedly swerved to avoid an animal in the road and traveled off the right side of the road. The vehicle struck a tree, a barbed wire fence and a second tree before catching fire, the report said.
Dopirak was seriously injured, and a passenger, Ethan C. Wright, was moderately injured, the report said. Both were taken by Big River Ambulance to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County.
According to a hospital spokesman, as of Friday afternoon, Oct. 4, Dopirak was in satisfactory condition, and Wright was treated and released.
Both Dopirak and Wright were wearing seat belts, and the vehicle was totaled.