State troopers in western Missouri’s Troop A say two people have been killed in separate snow-related crashes on Monday.
A Missouri Department of Transportation snow plow (2018 file photo courtesy of MoDOT)
One of the crashes happened on I-49 in Cass County and the other happened in Henry County, near Windsor.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) says 62-year-old Kathleen Miller of Windsor was pronounced dead at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton, after her vehicle was struck nearly head-on by another vehicle Monday morning on snow-covered Highway 52. The MSHP’s crash report says the driver of the other vehicle, 31-year-old Maria Raamirez-Gudino, suffered serious injuries. The report says Raamirez-Gudino lost control of her vehicle on the snow-covered road and crossed the road’s center.
The MSHP has not released the victim’s name in the Cass County fatality, at this time.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Bill Lowe tells Missourinet most of the at least 86 weather-related crashes Troop A has worked are speed-related.
“Even though the speed limit is 70, you don’t have to go 70,” Lowe says. “If you’re able to only drive 60 miles an hour on the interstate, as long as you can maintain control of your car, then you go 60 miles an hour.”
Sergeant Lowe urges you to maintain a safe distance between vehicles. He also notes today is the first major snowfall of the season in western Missouri.
“And unfortunately, you know, it’s just a continuing problem. When people have this weather come up on them, they forget that defensive driving is a key to their safety and everyone else,” says Lowe.
Troop A serves 13 counties in western and northwest Missouri.
First responders in central Missouri have also been responding to numerous crashes and slide-offs because of the snow.
A Missourinet reporter saw at least five vehicles that had crashed late Monday morning on Highway 63 between Columbia and Jefferson City. The Southern Boone Fire Protection District in Ashland tweeted today, urging motorists to “drive safe, careful and responsible.”
A dispatcher in Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F tells Missourinet they have worked about 41 traffic crashes since midnight. It’s unclear how many of the 41 crashes are snow-related.
Troop F serves 13 mid-Missouri counties, including Cole and Boone.
And the National Weather Service in Springfield is warning drivers to be aware of re-freezing of wet roads tonight. They’re forecasting a cold night across the Ozarks, with wind chills in the single digits and teens.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Bill Lowe, which was recorded on November 12, 2018:
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