Missouri State Highway Patrol Archives

Fire at Highway Patrol maintenance building could impact some operations

April 8, 2014 By Mike Lear

A fire early Tuesday morning at a Highway Patrol maintenance facility will impact the Patrol’s ability to do its job, according to the Patrol’s Superintendent.

Colonel Ron Replogle says the 22,400 square foot facility in Jefferson City is used for vehicle maintenance and equipping. He says the building is a total loss as are at least 8 of the 14 vehicles inside.

“It is our main maintenance facility for the entire state for our fleet of vehicles. With the merger of the Water Patrol, we have a fleet of close to 1,500 vehicles now,” says Replogle. “It’s going to be a big loss for us. It’s going to take us a little time to get operational here again.” He says some operations will be moved to other buildings until the structure can be rebuilt.

The state is moving quickly to develop an estimate of losses to give to lawmakers, who still haven’t approved the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and could potentially include rebuilding costs in it.

Replogle says of an early estimate, “$3.8-million dollars just for the structure itself. That doesn’t include the cars and the other equipment that was lost in the fire. It’s probably going to end up being somewhere between a $4-million and $5-million dollar total loss.”

No one was injured in the fire. Its cause is still under investigation but Replogle says it is not considered suspicious.

Upgrades could get Amber Alerts out faster

March 19, 2014 By Mike Lear

A series of changes to the state’s Amber Alert system could be coming that would reduce the time it takes to issue an alert by 20 to 30 minutes, according to the program’s coordinator.

One change that is expected to take place Wednesday was prompted in part by the abduction and murder of 10-year-old Hailey Owens of Springfield last month.

Captain Greg Kindle says it involves the forms that local law enforcement officers have had to print out, fill out and fax to the Patrol when a child is abducted. Those will be made available to fill out and submit online, which Kindle says will save hassle and time.

Kindle says another change could make a greater difference, but it is dependent on money being left in the state’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget to support it.

Representative Eric Burlison (R-Springfield) proposed, and the House Budget Committee adopted, $120-thousand dollars to pay for the Patrol to tie in the Amber Alert System to the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (MULES).

Kindle says that would altogether eliminate the need for a local officer to fill out that form.

“When they make their MULES and (National Crime Information Center) entry … it would come straight to Troop F off that entry,” says Kindle.

Amber Alerts are administered and issued at the Patrol’s Troop F headquarters based in Jefferson City.

To see active Amber Alerts, visit www.missingkids.com/AMBER

Kindle says if that money is included in the final budget proposal, the Patrol could move forward with tying those two systems together.

Another upgrade that has been the subject of testing with the U.S. Department of Justice since before Thanksgiving would allow one entry from the Patrol to simultaneously go to news agencies, the Amber Alert website and the Emergency Alert System. The Patrol currently has to enter each separately.

Kindle says he is optimistic that upgrade will take effect in the next month or two.

The end result of all of those upgrades could be significant.

“On the originating agency’s end, that could be several minutes,” says Kindle. “Not having to print this form out and fax it and all that … you’re probably talking 15 or 20 minutes that’s going to save in the originating agency. Here in Troop F, it’s probably going to knock another five to ten minutes off.”

Kindle says such a reduction in time would be “extremely important. Every minute counts when you have a true abduction like that.”

To receive Amber Alerts on Twitter, follow @AMBERAlert

Other efforts would involve Amber Alert training for all law enforcement entities that make MULES entries. That would have other entities besides the officers at the scene considering whether a situation merits an Amber Alert.

“The officer there on the scene is dealing with witnesses and trying to get license plates and descriptions of vehicles and all that, and an Amber Alert might not be the first thing that comes to his mind,” explains Kindle. “This radio operator that’s kind of removed, we’re hoping, will think, ‘Hey, we talked about this Amber Alert thing. This looks like it may qualify.’ Again, maybe just five minutes, ten minutes saved there.”

Training will also be offered for line officers in police and sheriffs’ departments in considering when a situation merits an Amber Alert.

House Republican ‘appalled’ by lack of action on impeachment filings against Gov. Nixon

March 13, 2014 By Mike Lear

The latest House Republican to file articles of impeachment against Governor Jay Nixon (D) says he is “appalled” his majority party’s leadership has not advanced any proposals to impeach the Governor since their filing.

Representative Rick Brattin (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel; Missouri House Communications)

Representative Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) has filed two articles of impeachment against Nixon. He says Nixon violated the state Constitution by not disciplining or firing members of the executive branch for their roles in the scanning and retention of concealed carry endorsement documents by the Department of Revenue, and the release twice of personal information related to those documents to federal authorities.

Brattin says Nixon should be held accountable. His filing is HR 923.

“When you’re in charge,” Brattin says of Nixon, “the buck stops with you and we’ve had thousands of people’s important documents being scanned and sent over to another state and now are no telling where and I think it’s ridiculous and egregious.”

Brattin follows fellow Republicans Nick Marshall (R-Parkville) and Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) who have also filed articles of impeachment against the Governor. He co-sponsors their efforts as they do his and one another’s.

Marshall filed two articles saying Nixon’s executive order instructing the Department of Revenue to accept joint tax returns from same-sex couples violated the state Constitution. Moon says in one article that Nixon violated the Constitution by not acting fast enough to set special election dates to fill vacant seats in the House and the Senate.

No action has been taken on those articles since they were filed a month ago.

Brattin says those legislators raise important issues and he hopes their filings and his will be allowed to move through the legislative process.

“We swore an oath to uphold, defend the Constitution before any type of legislative agenda … before anything. When we have somebody acting out of the Constitution and out of their authority, then they should be held to account,” Brattin tells Missourinet. “I think it should move and I’m appalled that it really hasn’t, unfortunately.”

Brattin says it is a political decision not to take up the arguments against Nixon.

“It’s an election year and we have a lot we want to do legislatively for jobs and things like that, and I’m right there too,” says Brattin, “and I have constituents all the time saying, ‘We see Barack Obama doing all this type of stuff and why isn’t anybody doing anything?’ We here at the state level wonder why isn’t the federal government doing anything? Well, we right here at the state level have the same thing going on with our governor. Are we not going to stand up and do what we’re calling the federal government to do?”

House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) says the three filings are still being studied.

“We want to make sure we move them forward in the right way,” Jones says. “We’re going to have to go back and look what was done with the previous articles and I think they were moved to a committee for study, and so we’ll have to look at that prior determination and move along that same track.”

Articles of impeachment move through the legislative process in the House similarly to the way a bill would. They would have to be first referred to a committee. If the articles are passed in the House, Nixon would be tried by a commission of seven eminent jurists elected by the Senate.

Two Articles of Impeachment filed against Governor Nixon (AUDIO/COPY OF THE ARTICLES)

Articles of Impeachment filed against Governor Nixon over action on same-sex tax filing

Openly-gay lawmaker discusses impeachment effort over same-sex tax filing (AUDIO)

Weather Service, Highway Patrol call attention to possible weekend winter storm

December 16, 2013 By Mike Lear

Just days after a winter storm that brought to Missouri sleet, freezing rain and in some areas nearly 10 inches of snow accumulation, the National Weather Service says another significant winter storm could be in store for this weekend.

This graphic courtesy of the National Weather Service in St. Louis illustrates the possibility that a winter storm could be headed for Missouri this weekend, but stresses the high level of unpredictability this far ahead of any event.

This storm will come to Missouri by way of the Country of Mexico, and Meteorologist Evan Bookbinder with the National Weather Service’s Pleasant Hill office says it’s still a long way away.

“It will be probably a couple of days out before we really have the details spelled out,” says Bookbinder. “This system is still off in the Pacific Ocean, so we’ve got a ways to go here yet.”

Still, the outlook is concerning enough that he wants to tell Missourians now to be watching the forecast as it takes shape through the week.

The storm will follow a brief warmup through midweek that will melt off snow and ice in much of the state. Bookbinder says it is after temperatures take that upswing that a front is expected to move in early Friday, dropping temperatures back to at or below freezing. That front could be accompanied by some rain changing to snow, before the system of concern reaches Missouri.

Bookbinder emphasizes the storm is too far and too many days away to predict with certainty its track, timing or what form of and how much precipitation it will produce.

Right now it appears the storm will hit, “Somewhere along the I-44 corridor during the timeframe of late Saturday into Sunday. Depending on the track of that system we could see some significant winter weather across portions of the state in the form of freezing rain and snow once again.”

Bookbinder says this early in the season, storms pose threats for ice accumulation or heavy snow largely because the Midwest is still transitioning between warmer and colder weather.

“The cold air that comes in behind the front Friday is pretty shallow,” he explains. “The air is actually still unseasonably mild aloft, and much like we saw a few days back, depending on how much warm air there is at several thousand feet above the ground, the snow melts into rain and then refreezes on contact or it stays all snow all the way to the ground. It’s just a matter of where you are.”

Winter storm prediction raises driver safety concerns for Highway Patrol

The prediction of another winter storm that would coincide with the weekend before Christmas is concerning to Highway Patrol Captain Tim Hull. He says the storm that hit Missouri Friday and Saturday proved tragic on Missouri roads as 10 people died in traffic crashes attributed to the weather.

“We, statewide, had been down 9 percent (year-to-date) in traffic fatalities compared to what we were at last year before Friday started,” Hull recalls. “10 traffic deaths can make a real impact on that number, but it’s also those 10 families whose lives are going to be changed forever because of those traffic crashes … it’s not just a number for us.”

Hull worries that significant winter weather on a weekend with such potential for heavy travel could prove to be a “devastating situation for drivers.”

Both men are urging Missourians to watch how weather predictions for this weekend develop over the rest of the week, and encourage avoiding unnecessary travel if and when the storm does impact their route.

Hull says before beginning a journey, travelers should remember to use the state road condition hotline at (888) 275-6636, or conditions can be checked with the Transportation Department’s Traveler Information Map that is also available as an app on a smartphone or tablet. For emergency assistance drivers in Missouri can call (800) 525-5555 or *55 on a cell phone. Hull says if someone has been injured, call 911.

For weather information in your part of the state, listen to your local Missourinet affiliate station and visit these National Weather Service websites:

Pleasant Hill: Northwest Missouri including Kansas City, Kirksville and Moberly

St. Louis: Northeast and eastern Missouri including St. Louis, Columbia and Hannibal

Springfield: Southwest Missouri including Springfield, Fort Leonard Wood and the Lake of the Ozarks

Paducah, KY: The Bootheel in Southeast Missouri

Davenport, IA: Scotland and Clark Counties in Northeast Missouri

WEATHER UPDATE: Ten killed on Missouri roads since Friday morning due to weather, Highway Patrol says

December 14, 2013 By Mike Lear

UPDATE 3:30pm: The HighwayPatrol reports an accident at 8:43 this morning in Henry County has left a Deepwater man dead. 80-year-old William Dulaban’s vehicle slid out of control across Route Z and struck a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

UPDATE: A woman has died in a traffic crash in Raytown early Saturday morning. Police are investigating the rollover accident. The name of the victim has not been released.

The Highway Patrol reports eight people have died in weather-related accidents on Missouri roads since shortly before 7:30 Friday morning.

Captain Tim Hull says the Highway Patrol staged 4-wheel drive trucks like this one to be ready to respond to traffic crashes and to assist motorists during recent winter weather.

Captain Tim Hull with the Highway Patrol says temperatures were at or just below freezing yesterday and caused moisture on roads to freeze. Sleet and freezing rain also fell followed by snow, making for hazardous driving conditions.

“The Patrol … we’ve investigated 7 traffic fatalities which have been weather-related in the past 24 hours,” Hull told Missourinet at 9 a.m. “Another agency … Clay County investigated one. So we’re aware that we’ve had eight thus far due to weather-related issues.”

He calls those deaths “tragic.”

“Especially this time of year … that’s eight families, eight extended families that are going to suffer the loss of a loved one forever. That’s eight individuals who are not going to get to experience Christmas this year with their families.” Hull says, “Our hope is that motorists will learn from these situations … if you don’t have to get out, don’t, in these kinds of weather conditions.”

Hull says among the fatal accidents and numerous other crashes throughout Missouri in the last 24 hours, there have been common themes.

“Going just a little bit too fast for the conditions or not paying close enough to the conditions,” Hull says, “and then before you know it the vehicle loses control and goes off one side of the roadway or the other and strikes and object or overturns, or in a couple of cases … they slid and crossed through the median and struck another vehicle or a vehicle struck them because they were in the wrong lane.”

Hull says he hopes that total doesn’t increase, but he says more crashes have occurred as snow fell in much of the state Saturday morning with totals as high as 9.7″ in St. Charles County.

According to Patrol crash reports, in an accident at 7:55 Friday morning in Camden County a Camdenton woman, 42-year-old Karla Brown, died when her vehicle slid on ice and traveled into the path of a van going the opposite direction. At 9:35 on Highway 63 south of Rolla 16-year-old Charity Adams of Licking died when the car she was riding in went out of control on ice, hit a guard rail and flipped. In Osage County 68-year-old Jerome Hinrichs of Wildwood was killed when his vehicle left the road, hit a tree and rolled along Highway 50 at about 11:45.

Also at 11:45 in the Patrol says 19-year-old Cody Ricker of Holts Summit was killed when he lost control of his vehicle and it crossed the median of Highway 54 in Callaway County, where it was hit by a van going the opposite direction. On Highway 100 in Franklin County a Herman woman, 23-year-old Whitney Gabathuler, was killed when just before noon another driver lost control of his car on an icy bridge and it struck the front of hers. The driver of the other vehicle was seriously injured.

Seven vehicles including three tractor-trailers were involved in a crash at 4:50 Friday afternoon on Interstate 44 west of Halltown that left a Joplin man dead. Witnesses said the chain-reaction collision happened when one car swerved to avoid a previous accident. In the resulting pileup, 44-year-old Matthew Cozad of Joplin was killed, one person was seriously injured and several sustained minor injuries.

A St. Louis woman died in a four-vehicle accident at about 7:30 Friday evening on I-44 in St. Louis County. The Patrol says Margie Oshaughnessy was driving east in the westbound lanes of the Interstate when her car was struck head-on by another vehicle, causing a chain-reaction. The driver of the car that hit hers was seriously injured.

Clay County authorities say icy conditions also caused an accident in Kearney that killed the driver of a truck transporting propane just after 9:00 Friday morning. The name and age of the victim in that crash have not been released.

Seven killed on Missouri roads over Labor Day weekend, no drownings or boating fatalities

September 3, 2013 By Jessica Machetta

The Highway Patrol reports seven people were killed on Missouri roads over the Labor Day weekend. That’s even with last year, when seven people died in car accidents over the holiday. Two of the highway fatalities were motorcyclists.

Troopers investigated 248 crashes … 112 people suffered injuries, that number is down from last year. The Patrol reports arresting 119 people for drunk driving, which is also down from 147 last year. In 2012, troopers investigated 201 crashes, which included 144 injuries and four of the seven fatalities.

Good news on the waterways though were no boating fatalities or drownings have been reported. The Water Patrol did investigate nine boating crashes, injuring seven, and arrested 14 people for boating while intoxicated. During the 2012 Labor Day weekend, officers investigated three boating crashes, which included one injury and no fatalities. One person drowned and seven people were arrested for boating while intoxicated during last year’s Labor Day weekend.

The 2013 counting period ran from 6 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30, through 11:59 p.m., Monday, Sept. 2.

Of the five traffic crash fatalities troopers investigated, three occurred in the Troop D, Springfield area, and one each occurred in the Troop C, Weldon Spring area, and the Troop F, Jefferson City.

There were no fatalities on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013, during the counting period.

Three fatalities occurred on Saturday, Aug. 31. Justin M. Rohe, 25, of St. Charles died when he failed to stop at a red signal and struck the rear passenger side of a vehicle making a left turn. Rohe was ejected from the motorcycle he was driving. The crash occurred at the intersection of Mid Rivers Mall Drive and Ohmes Road in St. Charles County. St. Charles County emergency medical services pronounced Rohe dead at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured in the crash.

Dalton W. Coe, 15, of Seneca died when the vehicle in which he was a passenger crossed the centerline and the driver overcorrected. The vehicle then left the roadway, overturned, and struck a tree. Newton County Deputy Coroner Brian Artherton pronounced Coe dead at the scene. The driver and another passenger sustained moderate injuries. All three of the vehicle’s occupants were wearing seat belts. The crash occurred on Gum Road south of Joplin, in Newton County.

The St. Louis Police Department is investigating the remaining fatality on Aug. 31 — no further details are available.

One person died on Sunday, Sept. 1. Brandan A. Evans, 18, of Bronaugh died when the vehicle he was driving traveled off the left side of the roadway, overturned several times, and came to rest on its tires. Evans was not wearing a seat belt and was partially ejected from the vehicle. Dr. Tiffany Batiste, Freeman West Hospital, Joplin, pronounced Evans dead at the hospital. The crash occurred on Missouri Route BB, one mile south of Nevada, Vernon County. The Vernon County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.

Three fatalities occurred on the Labor Day holiday, Monday, Sept. 2. Beth W. Adamson, 50, of Wichita, Kan., died when the driver of the vehicle in which she was a passenger failed to stop at a stop sign. The Adamson vehicle was then struck broadside. Dr. Buchele, Freeman West Hospital in Joplin, pronounced Adamson dead at the hospital. Both the driver and Adamson were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash; the driver sustained minor injuries. The driver of the other vehicle sustained serious injuries; he was not wearing a seat belt. The crash occurred 10 miles north of Joplin on Missouri Highway 43 in Jasper County.

Melissa K. Crossland, 45, of Richland died when the driver of the vehicle in which she was a passenger failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle then traveled off the right side of the road, struck a tree, and overturned. Neither the driver nor Crossland were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Camden County Medical Examiner Jaimie Wheat pronounced Crossland dead at the scene. The driver sustained serious injuries. The crash occurred in Camden County on Missouri Route A east of Seven Springs Road.

The Ste. Genevieve Police Department is investigating the remaining fatality for Monday, Sept. 2. No further details are available.

The patrol says the fatality statistics reported today could change if late deaths occur, if other departments report fatal traffic/boating crashes after the numbers were released, or if a fatality is determined to be caused by a medical condition rather than traffic/boating incident.

Seventeen road fatalities, three drownings over July 4 weekend

July 8, 2013 By Jessica Machetta

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports 17 people died in traffic crashes during the 2013 July Fourth holiday counting period. The counting period began at 6 p.m., Wednesday, July 3, and ended at 11:59 p.m., Sunday, July 8.

State troopers worked 358 traffic crashes in which 13 people died and 157 were injured. The Columbia Police Department worked one fatality crash; St. Louis City Police Department worked a triple fatality crash. Troopers arrested 199 people for driving while intoxicated during this year’s 102-hour holiday counting period.

Those numbers are way up from last year, when troopers worked 99 traffic crashes in which three people died and 45 were injured. Troopers arrested 59 people for driving while intoxicated last year. Statewide, in 2012, there were 385 traffic crashes, in which four people died and 194 were injured.

The Patrol points out that numbers were likely to be higher this year since the counting period was more than three times longer. This year’s counting period and enforcement efforts stretched over four days since July 4 fell on a Thursday.

No fatalities occurred on Wednesday, July 3. Seven fatalities occurred on Thursday, July 4.

Timothy R. Panzar, 25, of St. Robert, died when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving traveled off the right side of the roadway, became airborne, struck a tree, and overturned. The ATV then came to rest in the Big Piney River. Panzar and a passenger were ejected into the river. Pulaski County Coroner Mikel Hartness pronounced Panzar dead. The passenger sustained serious injuries. The crash occurred in Pulaski County on Hartford Road north of Missouri Highway 28.
Kathleen M. Gentner, 72, of Macon, died when she attempted to drive her vehicle across U.S. Highway 36 and was struck in the driver’s side door by an eastbound vehicle. It is unknown whether or not Gentner was wearing a seat belt. Macon County Coroner Brian Hayes pronounced Gentner dead at the scene. The driver and two passengers in the second vehicle sustained minor or moderate injuries. The crash occurred in Macon County on U.S. Highway 36 at Kellogg Avenue.
Jason A. Rittermeyer, 32, of Archie, died when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving after the vehicle traveled off the right edge of the roadway. The vehicle returned to the roadway, skidded sideways across the highway, and was struck in the passenger door. Both vehicles came to rest off the south side of the roadway. Rittermeyer was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. In addition to Jason Rittermeyer, Noah Rittermeyer, 10, Sage Rittermeyer, 9, Anna Rittermeyer, 8, all of Archie, and Aleah M. Lucas, 22, of Olathe, Kansas, also died in the crash. Noah was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Sage was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. Lucas was not wearing a seat belt; she was ejected from the vehicle. It is unknown whether or not Anna was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Jackson County Medical Examiner pronounced all fatalities deceased. The driver of the second vehicle sustained minor injuries; he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The crash occurred in Cass County on Missouri Route B at Cantrell Road.

Two people died in traffic crashes on Friday, July 5, 2013.

Tracy L. Adams, 45, of Wright City, died when the vehicle she was driving traveled off the right side of the roadway, she overcorrected the vehicle, returned to the roadway and began to rotate counterclockwise. The vehicle then slid off the road, struck a shallow ditch, and overturned. Adams was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash; she was partially ejected and came to rest under the vehicle. Warren County Coroner Roger Mauzy pronounced Adams deceased. The crash occurred in Warren County on Westwoods Road east of North Strack Church Road.
Elizabeth Baylark, 79, of St. Louis, died after she suffered a medical condition and lost control of the vehicle she was driving. Her vehicle then traveled off the roadway and struck a pedestrian at a bus stop bench. Baylark was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Dr. Fulkert at DePaul Hospital pronounced Baylark dead. The pedestrian suffered moderate injuries in the crash. The crash occurred in St. Louis County on Missouri Highway 180 east of McKelvey Road.

Six people died in traffic crashes on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Brenda L. Richards, 44, of Washington, died when the vehicle she was driving ran off the right side of the roadway, she overcorrected causing the vehicle to travel across the roadway and into the median where it overturned. Richards was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Deputy Coroner Woodward pronounced Richards dead at the scene. The crash occurred in Jasper County on Interstate 44, four miles east of Carthage.
Brandon M. Blankenship, 24, of St. Charles, died when the vehicle in which he was a passenger failed to negotiate a curve to the left, traveled off the right side of the roadway, overturned several times, and struck several trees. The vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash. Blankenship was not wearing a seatbelt. Deputy Coroner Steve Hatfield pronounced Blankenship dead. The driver of the vehicle sustained serious injuries in the crash; she was wearing a seat belt. The crash occurred in Washington County on Missouri Highway 21 at Missouri Route C.
Joseph B. Stamey, 26, of Belton, died when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving skidded off the roadway and struck a tree. Stamey was ejected. Both the vehicle and Stamey came to rest in the roadway. Ozark County Coroner Shane Ledbetter pronounced Stamey dead. The crash occurred in Ozark County on County Road 529 west of Missouri Route J.
Lydell Templeton, 43, of St. Louis, died when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving. The vehicle then collided with the median and overturned several times before catching fire. In addition to Lydell Templeton, Michael J. Helm, 20, of St. Louis, and Tyrone Cain II, 40, address unknown, died in the crash. Two additional passengers sustained serious injuries. Seatbelt information is unknown. Four of the five occupants were ejected from the vehicle. The crash occurred in St. Louis County near the Highway 40/Interstate 64 interchange at Kingshighway. St. Louis City Police Department investigated the crash.

Two people died on Sunday, July 7, 2013.

Michael S. Mann, 40, of High Ridge, died when the motorcycle he was driving failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle began to skid and struck a second vehicle. Dr. Olsen at St. Anthony’s Hospital pronounced Mann dead. The driver of the vehicle that struck Mann’s motorcycle was not injured in the crash. The crash occurred in Jefferson County on High Ridge Boulevard east of Antire Road.
Brandon E. Bainter, 29, of Quincy, Ill., died when he lost control of the motorcycle he was driving and collided with a utility pole. Bainter was ejected. The crash occurred in Boone County at the intersection of West Broadway Street and Westwood Avenue in Columbia. The Columbia Police Department investigated the crash.

Three people drowned on Missouri waterways. Two people drowned on July 4, at Smithville Lake in Clinton County.

The body of John S. Butts, 55, of Smithville, was recovered on July 5, 2013 near Smithville Lake Access 14. The body was taken to Frontier Forensic in Kansas City; the investigation continues.
The body of Gregory E. Weese, age unknown, of Plattsburg, was recovered on July 5, 2013, near the Smithville Lake Access 14. His body was also taken to Frontier Forensic in Kansas City.

One person drowned on Friday, July 5.

The incident occurred in the Troop C, Weldon Spring, area. The investigation continues. Identification has not been released.

There were zero boating fatalities over the 2013 July Fourth counting period. Troopers investigated 17 boating crashes involving 11 injuries.

Troopers also arrested 17 people for boating while intoxicated over the holiday counting period. During the 2012 July Fourth weekend, officers investigated six boating crashes, which included two injuries and no fatalities. One person drowned, two people were electrocuted, and seven people were arrested for boating while intoxicated during last year’s July Fourth weekend.

The Patrol says fatality statistics may change if someone dies from their injuries or if other law enforcement departments report fatal traffic crashes after today’s press release was sent out, or if a fatality is determined to be caused by a medical condition rather than traffic incident.

The Patrol posts all accident details on its website, click HERE.

AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports (:65)

Legislature moves to reign in big buys by Highway Patrol

May 16, 2013 By Mike Lear

The state legislature wants the state Highway Patrol to have to get its blessing before it makes any more big vehicle purchases.

Representative Diane Franklin (photo courtesy; Missouri House Communications)

The Patrol has a fund controlled by its superintendent that it can use to purchase cars, boats and planes. It used that fund in December to purchase a $5.6-million plane that Republicans suggest the Governor Jay Nixon told it to buy.

The General Assembly has sent the Governor a bill (SB 236) that would require the Patrol to get legislative approval to make purchases of any one vehicle that costs more than $100,000.

The House handler of the bill, Representative Diane Franklin (R-Camdenton) says it’s about fiscal responsibility.

“We want to be sure that we can demonstrate to the taxpayer of Missouri how money in excess of $100,000 is being spent.”

Representative Mike Colona (D-St. Louis City) says the legislation is about House Republicans disapproving of the purchase of that plane.

“We have a history this legislative session of throwing temper tantrums. We’re only going to find the [Department of Revenue Division of Motor Vehicles] for eight months because we’re throwing a temper tantrum. We don’t like what’s going on. We don’t like the fact that the Highway Patrol bought a plane … so we’re going to throw a temper tantrum and say, ‘No, no, no! You’re going to ask me before you spend any money, dang it.'”

The Patrol testified to a House Committee that it had no objection to the change.

The bill also requires that the Patrol pay for maintenance out of that fund rather than just purchases.

The proposal has gone to the Governor.

Senator: ATF also wanted Missouri concealed carry holder information

April 16, 2013 By Mike Lear

The Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman says he’s learned that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also wanted a list of Missouri concealed carry permit holders’ names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

State Senator Kurt Schaefer (right) announces the latest findings in his probe into the release of Missouri CCW holders’ information, joined by Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (left).

Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) says according to an internal e-mail from the Highway Patrol, when the Social Security Administration requested a list of Missouri concealed carry permit holders, it said it was to conduct a joint investigation with the ATF.

See the internal e-mails Schaefer refers to (pdf).

A list was sent to the Social Security Administration but Schaefer doesn’t know if one went to the Bureau

“All I know at this point is it appears from the internal documents that the Department of Revenue, before they produced the information, knew that it was a joint request from both.”

Schaefer says, that the Revenue Department and Highway Patrol knew the ATF wanted the list is what concerns him the most.

“We’ve had a couple weeks’ worth of hearings and we have heard nothing about ATF, anyone knowing that this was going to ATF, until we actually came across it in the documents.”

The letter Schaefer is referring to on Monday was read to the House Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability by Highway Patrol Superintendent, Colonel Ron Replogle. Replogle did not state whether information was sent to the ATF.

Asked whether it is appropriate for the Bureau or the Social Security Administration, both law enforcement agencies, to have access to that information, Schaefer says it might be on an individual basis. He says to use the entire list of more than 160,000 Missourians who have CCWs is profiling.

A request has been made to have a Social Security Administration investigator testify to the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the Senator says he plans to make a similar request to the ATF to find out if it received the CCW list.

Schaefer says the documents also reveal that the second disc sent to the Social Security Administration was not encrypted, as lawmakers have been told.

“Apparently it was just on an XL protected, password protected file, and the actual password was on a piece of paper in the package with the discs.”

That password was “MOccw.”

The development has caught the attention of Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer. In a statement, his office says Luetkemeyer has sent a letter to the ATF asking about how involved it was in what he calls a “scandal.”

See Congressman Luetkemeyer’s letter to acting ATF Director B. Todd Jones.