By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
Nine people died Friday afternoon on the Will Rogers Turnpike when a tractor-trailer unit crashed full speed into vehicles that had stopped for another accident.
“I could easily say this is the worst crash I’ve ever seen in my career with the highway patrol,” said Oklahoma State Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown. Brown said he has been with the patrol for 12 years.
He said the dead included eight adults and one child. Their identities were not immediately available from the patrol. No additional fatalities were expected.
Brown didn’t have a count on those injured, but said he was aware that some victims were taken by ambulance and helicopter to area hospitals.
“As far as a solid number, we do not know that yet,” Brown said.
Hospital spokeswomen said eight of the injured were taken to Freeman Hospital West in Joplin. One was initially taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, before being taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.
The driver of the truck was among those taken to an area hospital.
Brown said the accident occurred about 1 p.m. near mile marker 321 in the eastbound lane of the Will Rogers Turnpike near the Oklahoma/Missouri state line. A traffic jam had developed when a minor accident occurred on the turnpike. He said the eastbound tractor-trailer rammed into the rear of three vehicles without slowing down. The speed limit in the area is 75 mph.
Brown said at least six vehicles were involved in the accident in addition to the tractor-trailer.
He described a scene of mangled metal, fluids spilled onto the highway and numerous emergency vehicles, including ambulances and helicopters.
“It looked like a war zone,” Brown said.
The turnpike’s eastbound lanes were closed for hours after the accident. Stalled travelers baked in 100-degree heat. Emergency crews delivered water to some of the stranded motorists.
A spokesman for the Miami Fire Department said emergency personnel from the Downstream Casino were among the first to arrive at the scene. They summoned help from area fire departments and ambulance districts, including Joplin and Redings Mill.
Brown said the turnpike had reopened to traffic by 9 p.m.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
9 die in turnpike accident
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
