I-55 crash sends four to hospital

A two-vehicle crash on I-55 south of Portageville injured four people on Sunday. According to police reports, the driver of a 2004 Chevrolet Escort van lost control of the vehicle and hit a 2006 Buick Terraza, then ran into the median and overturned. The accident occurred at 3:40 p.m.

The van's driver, Evonne McDaniel of Arlington, Tx., was heading northbound on I-55, when the accident occurred near mile marker 35.2. McDaniel was air-lifted and taken to the Elvis Presley Trauma Center in Memphis. Other occupants in the van included Darius McDaniel, 16, who was air-lifted to a Cape Girardeau hospital. Cordarryl Jackson, age unknown, received minor injuries and was transported, by ambulance, to Pemiscot Memorial Medical Center in Hayti. Cameron Jackson, nine, sustained moderate injuries and also taken to Pemiscot Memorial. John Billaid, 60 of Arlington, Tx., was seriously injured in the crash. He was air-lifted to the Elvis Presley Trauma Center. The van was towed away by Moore's Towing Service of Marston, Mo.

The driver of the Buick, James A. McGee, of Park Hills, Mo., was not injured.

The accident was investigated by Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper L.J. Haggett and Corporal M.M. Jones, the New Madrid County Ambulance District, the Portageville Police Department, the Hayti Fire Department and the Portageville Fire Department.