A Park Hills woman and a Desloge man were hurt Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 18) in a four-vehicle accident on Hwy. 67 at Weible Road in St. Francois County. A De Soto man and a Hillsboro woman also were involved in the accident, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
At 2:20 p.m., Bessie J. Thompson, 86, of Park Hills was driving a northbound 1999 Chevrolet Impala and allegedly “made an unsafe lane change,” striking a northbound 2007 Ford Fusion driven by Dennis R. Haynes, 60, of De Soto, the report said.
In an effort to avoid that collision, a third driver – Russell L. Schroeder, 48, of De Pere, Wis., in a 2016 Jaguar XJ – swerved and struck the median, and then that car was struck by the front a northbound 2005 Chrysler Town and Country minivan driven by Sarah L. Jameson, 38, of Hillsboro, according to the report.
No injuries were reported for Haynes, Schroeder or Jameson.
However, Thompson was seriously hurt, and a passenger in the Impala – Ervin Hamman, 90, of Desloge – was moderately hurt, and both were taken by St. Francois County Ambulance to Parkland Health Center, the report said.
Thompson and Hamman were not wearing seat belts, and all the others involved in the accident were wearing them, the patrol reported.
The Fusion was totaled, the Jaguar was extensively damaged, the Impala was moderately damaged and the Town and County had minor damage, the report said.