Holly P. Cooke, 31, Norwood, suffered fatal injuries when her vehicle struck a cow at 9:58 p.m. Monday on Highway 5, 6.5 miles northwest of Gainesville in Ozark County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Sgt. L.S. Elliott, with Troop G of the patrol, headquartered in Willow Springs, reported Cooke’s southbound 1998 Lincoln Town Car hit the animal.
Ozark County Coroner Gene Britt pronounced her dead at 10:45 p.m. at the scene.
A 10-year-old boy who was a passenger in the car, also from Norwood, suffered serious injuries and was flown by air ambulance to Mercy Children's Hospital in Springfield for treatment, the report shows.
The name of the child was not reported in public records because of state law protecting the identities of minors.
Cooke was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident but the child was, according to the report.
The death is the 11th traffic fatality in the nine-county Troop G area thus far this year, compared to 14 in the same time frame in 2023.
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