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.
