PIKE COUNTY, Mo. — A car crash left a person dead in Pike County, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. It was the third person to die in a car crash on a state highway in the area on Thursday.
Troopers said the accident occurred just before 8 p.m. Thursday when a Chevrolet Cavalier was traveling southbound on Highway 79, drove off the left side of the road and struck a tree. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver was identified as 38-year-old Nicholas Twilla from Louisana, Missouri.
This incident was the third fatality in MSHP's Troop C region Thursday. Two other fatal crashes happened on Highway 370 and Interstate 170.
At around 2 p.m. Thursday, westbound lanes of Highway 370 on Earth City Expressway were temporarily closed after a single-vehicle crash left one person dead. A tractor-trailer truck was traveling westbound on Highway 370 when it drove off the right side of the road, struck a concrete traffic barrier, and overturned. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
MSHP identified the victim as 27-year-old Bret Noble from Wright City, Missouri. The passenger, a 39-year-old man, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to a St. Louis hospital.
Just before 3:30 p.m., two people in a BMW were stopped in one of the southbound lanes of I-170, near St. Louis Lambert International Airport due to mechanical issues. A Hyundai Elantra that was also heading southbound slammed into its rear. Both vehicles started to skid, causing the BMW to travel off the right side of the road and hit a concrete barrier.
The driver of the Hyundai Elantra was pronounced dead at the scene. MSHP identified the crash victim as 39-year-old Ronaldo Butler from Ferguson. The two men in the BMW suffered minor injuries.
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