BENTON -- A Stoddard County teenager died Wednesday of injuries sustained in a two-vehicle accident Tuesday.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 2 p.m. Tuesday, in Stoddard County on Missouri Highway 25 at Route AA, one mile south of Bloomfield, an accident occurred as westbound motorist Heath N. Traughber, 17, of Bloomfield attempted to cross Highway 25 and was struck by the southbound vehicle driven by John M. Tilley, 40, of Bloomfield.
Traughber's passenger, Jeffrey M. White, 17, of Bloomfield was ejected from the vehicle as Traughber's vehicle came to a rest in the southbound passing lane of Highway 25. Tilley's vehicle ran off the roadway and also came to a rest.
White was first transported by ambulance to Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter and later to St. Louis University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:48 a.m. Wednesday by Dr. Carl Freeman.
Tilley's passenger, 13-year-old Mitchell Tilley of Bloomfield was injured and transported by ambulance to Missouri Southern Healthcare.
Also on Wednesday, a Mexico, Mo., woman was killed and four others injured after the vehicle they were traveling in overturned several times in Scott County Wednesday.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports at 2:25 p.m. southbound motorist Juan J. Zarate, 48, of Mexico, was traveling on Interstate 55, three miles south of Benton, when his vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway. Zarate then lost control of the vehicle and overturned multiple times.
Zarate's passenger 86-year-old Anasdaca Garcia of Mexico was airlifted to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, where she was pronounced dead at 3:18 p.m.
Zarate and his three other passengers, Karen G. Zyrate, 10, Edgar G. Zarate, 15, and Arseleia G. Zarate, 45, all of Mexico sustained serious injuries. They were also transported to St. Francis Medical Center.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, statewide 647 fatalities have occurred in Missouri compared to about 600 the same time last year --
about a 7 percent increase.