COLUMBIA -- A former Sikeston resident who was trapped in his burning sport utility vehicle after crashing it into a ditch Thursday afternoon died at University Hospital shortly afterward, Columbia police said.
Jim Kellett, 65, was driving north on U.S. 63 when he ran off the road and hit a small post, Columbia police said. The SUV briefly returned to the road before it crossed four lanes of traffic near the Route AC exit. After the vehicle skidded across an open field and into a ravine about 500 feet from the highway, the engine of the Lincoln Navigator caught fire, which spread into the passenger compartment, said Capt. Rick Douglas of the Columbia Fire Department.
Witnesses told Douglas the driver didn't appear to have control of the vehicle and didn't seem to be trying to slow down before the crash, which happened just before 3 p.m.
The man was trapped inside the SUV as witnesses tried to extinguish the fire and pull him out. The vehicle was wedged between trees and a concrete drain at the bottom of a ravine just south of the exit, Douglas said.
Columbia Fire Department extinguished the fire and opened the jammed driver's side door to remove the victim, who was conscious but had been burned on several parts of his body, Douglas said.
Reconstructing and investigating the accident could take up to 30 days, officials said.
Some information for this story is from the Columbia Missourian