A St. Louis man suffered fatal injuries when he was thrown from his pickup truck in a three-vehicle crash Monday.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported the collision happened at 4:50 p.m. Monday on north U.S. 63 at Gardner Road, 4.5 miles north of Cabool in Texas County when a southbound 2016 Ford F150 driven by James F. Russo, 51, crossed the center of the road and struck a northbound 2021 Volkswagen Atlas driven by Latisha M. Harris, 43, of Fort Mitchell, Ala.
The Ford then continued south and hit an oncoming 2013 Kenworth driven by Richard A. Fish, 51, Connersville, Ind., reported Tpr. J.L. Sentman with Troop G, Willow Springs. Russo, not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from his vehicle when it impacted the semitruck and the Kenworth continued off the right side of the road and overturned, coming to rest on its top, the report shows.
Texas County Coroner Marie Lasater pronounced Russo dead at 4:58 p.m. at the scene, and his body was taken to the morgue at the Texas County Sheriff's Department.
The remaining drivers and passengers were wearing seat belts and each suffered minor injuries, according to the patrol. The Volkswagen’s driver and passengers Hasson M. Harris, 42, and two 12-year-old boys, all from Fort Mitchell, Ala., were taken by ambulance to Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston for treatment, Troop G reported. The boys were not identified in the report because they are minors.
Fish was reportedly taken by ambulance to Cox South Medical Center in Springfield.
Sentman was assisted at the scene by Cpl. T.L. Brown, Tpr. N.B. Poynter, and Major Crash Team member Cpl. K.R. Waters. The Cabool and Houston Fire Departments and the Texas County Sheriff's Department also assisted .
Russo’s death is the 35th traffic fatality reported in the nine-county Troop G area for the year, compared to 28 this time last year.
