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Head-on crash kills 3 people in Lincoln County

The crash happened shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday in the area of State Highway JJ and Lakeview Drive, which is near Elsberry, Missouri

LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. — Three people died in a head-on crash Thursday morning in Lincoln County.

The crash happened shortly before 7 a.m. in the area of State Highway JJ and Lakeview Drive, which is near Elsberry, Missouri.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Juston Wheetley told 5 On Your Side it's likely speed played a role in the collision. After notifying their families, police released the names of the victims: Charles Edgar, 23, of O'Fallon, Missouri; Denise Presley, 41, of Branson; and Richard Lamb, 40, of Elsberry.

Wheetley said it's a tragic but common collision. 

"We see this all too often, where people are traveling at excessive speeds, especially on two-lane roadways," he said. "These roadways were designed years ago when vehicles traveled at much lower speeds. Attempting to negotiate these curves and these roadways at high rates of speed could end up as we have seen this morning."

According to MSHP's report, Edgar was driving north in a 2005 Chevrolet 1500, and Lamb, with Presley the passenger, was driving south in a 2007 Toyota Tundra. Edgar hit the brakes when the Tundra appeared in the southbound lane, causing the Chevy truck to skid across the center of the roadway.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene. None of them were wearing their seat belt.  

The two-lane highway winds through rolling hills around Elsberry. Heather Steele lives close by, and she's had a few close calls on JJ herself. 

"I've been run off the road with my kids in the car two or three times, at least, two where I have ended up in the ditch," she said.

Reconstruction specialists were on the scene Thursday morning. Wheetley told 5 On Your Side the results could take weeks, even months to complete.

This is a developing story that will be updated as 5 On Your Side confirms more information.

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