HILLSBORO, Mo. — A utility truck crashed into an apartment building in Hillsboro, Missouri, after a fatal, head-on crash on Missouri Highway 21 Thursday afternoon.
A spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol said a car heading southbound on Highway 21 crossed the center line near the intersection of Eckardt Lane and struck an Ameren utility truck head-on. The truck then left the roadway and crashed into the side of the apartment building.
The highway patrol said the driver of the car, 52-year-old Henry Rushing, was killed in the crash. An Ameren spokeswoman said there were two employees in the truck at the time of the crash, but they were not injured.
“We’re hearing this might have been called in as a careless and imprudent driver complaint on [the car that started the crash] and before law enforcement could make contact with him, the crash occurred,” Trooper Dallas Thompson with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
Police originally said no one was in the building, but a highway patrol spokesman has since said there were four people inside the apartment at the time. They were not hurt.
The spokesman said the truck crashed into the living room of one of the apartments. At around 10 p.m., the truck was pulled from the building.
The northbound lane of Highway 21 opened back up at around 9 p.m. The southbound lane remained closed as of 10 p.m.
Highway 21's dangerous history
About a 45-minute drive south from St. Louis through Jefferson County there is a 3.8 mile stretch of Missouri Highway 21 near Hillsboro that’s seen at least 56 crashes in just the past five years.
People who live along the stretch know this part of the highway as “Blood Alley.”
Locals say the 55 mph speed limit is too high for a two-lane highway with so much traffic, no real shoulder, several curves and multiple intersections.
The problem isn't new. In 2016, 5 On Your Side talked to people who wanted the speed limit dropped to what it is inside the city limits of Hillsboro – 40 miles per hour.
But, the speed on this stretch stayed at 55 and since then the crashes have continued - averaging about a dozen a year.
And now the stretch of Highway 21 known as "Blood Alley" has started this year with a crash that claimed a life