[Press Release] : Emergency personnel respond to double fatality crash on I-70 westbound near the 128-mile marker

[pr-l at news.gocolumbiamo.com]

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Battalion Chief Steven Sapp - (573) 874-7557 

Emergency personnel respond to double fatality crash on I-70 westbound
near the 128-mile marker

COLUMBIA, MO (April 28, 2006) -- Firefighters from the Columbia Fire
Department, the Boone County Fire Protection District, paramedics from
Boone Hospital Center and University Hospitals, Columbia Police and the
Missouri State Highway Patrol all responded to a report of a crash on 
I-70 westbound near the 128-mile marker at 9:21 a.m. on Friday, April
28.

The first crews on the scene requested the response be upgraded to an
extrication crash after determining that multiple vehicles were involved
and there were people injured and trapped. 

Further investigation found that four vehicles were involved; two semi
tractor trailers, a mini-van and one compact passenger car. Crews found
one semi on the shoulder of the road with minor damage to the rear of
the trailer. The driver of this unit suffered no injuries. The compact
passenger car was on the north side of the roadway down a 30-40
embankment. There were a male and a female occupant in this vehicle. The
female was pronounced dead on the scene and the male was transported to
the University of Missouri Level 1 Trauma Center with possible life
threatening injuries. The mini-van was impacted by the second
semi-tractor which was not towing a trailer. The occupant of the
mini-van was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver of the
semi-tractor did not suffer traumatic injuries from the crash, but was
transported to a local hospital because of severe emotional distress. 

Firefighters worked about 20 minutes to extricate the male passenger of
the compact car over the embankment. The deceased occupants were removed
by the medical examiner. 

The highway was closed from 9:30 a.m. until just after 2 p.m. while
emergency workers treated and transported the injured, law enforcement
conducted accident re-construction measurements and reports, and MODOT
workers cleared the roadway of debris and vehicle fluids. 

Traffic was detoured down both Clark Lane and I-70 Drive Southeast from
the Lake of the Woods exit. Further east, the Missouri State Highway
Patrol detoured traffic from I-70 onto Highway 54 west to Highway 63
North and back to I-70. 

The names of the injured and deceased will be released by the Columbia
Police Department upon notification of next of kin. Columbia Police will
also issue a statement on the cause of the crash when it's available. 

- 30 -
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