MULTIPLE CRASHES CAUSE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF US HIGHWAY 60 IN BUTLER COUNTY
A portion of US Highway 60 in Butler County was closed Wednesday morning following a multi vehicle wreck due to icy roads.
Officials say that three tractor trailers were involved in the crash along with several other vehicles, which caused the eastbound lanes of Highway 60 to be closed for several hours from the Highway W exit to the Highway T exit.
One Highway Patrol vehicle and three Barker’s Towing trucks were struck while responding to the area.
One State Trooper, identified as 39 year old Lee Hughes, of Poplar Bluff, received minor injuries and was transported to a Poplar Bluff hospital.
There were no other injuries listed in the Highway Patrol crash report.
OFC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT TO BE BROADCAST ON KWOC FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE PAGES
The 2023 Ozark Foothills Conference basketball tournament is set to begin this weekend.
The tournament, featuring seven area schools, will begin on Saturday at Greenville High School.
The championship games will be played on Friday, February 10th at the Libla Family Sports Complex on the campus of Three Rivers College.
Every game of the tournament, including boys’ varsity and junior varsity games along with girls’ games, will be broadcast live on the Today’s Talk KWOC Facebook page at facebook.com/TodaysTalkKWOC and the River Radio Youtube page at youtube.com/RiverRadioPB.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI POLICE VEHICLE STRUCK BY A FREIGHTLINER ON INTERSTATE 57
A Southeast Missouri police officer was badly injured after his vehicle was struck on Interstate 57.
According to authorities, the crash occurred when a freightliner was driving too fast for the road conditions, failed to yield to the lights on the police officer’s vehicle, and struck the back of it.
The officer, identified as 32 year old Joshua Maldonado, of the Charleston Department of Public Safety, suffered serious injuries and was flown to a Cape Girardeau hospital. Charleston police officials say that Maldonado was treated and released.
No injuries were listed for the driver of the freightliner.
The crash occurred Tuesday night, shortly after 7 pm.
WINTER WEATHER CONTINUES TO CAUSE NUMEROUS CRASHES IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
Wednesday was another busy day for Southeast Missouri first responders due to the winter weather.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, troopers in Troop E received over 161 calls for service since Midnight Wednesday morning.
This includes at least 67 stranded motorists, 58 crashes, and two crashes which included injuries.
Officials say that there have been no fatal crashes in Southeast Missouri as a part of this winter storm.
DRIVERS ASKED TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR BLACK ICE THIS MORNING
Area motorists are asked to be on the lookout for black ice this morning.
Weather officials say that while some of the ice from this week’s winter weather melted yesterday, the resulting moisture might have refrozen overnight on area roadways.
Drivers should be cautious and give themselves some extra time to reach their destination. You can check road conditions on the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Traveler Information Map at traveler.MoDOT.org.
KENNETT SCHOOL NURSE ARRESTED ON STATUTORY RAPE CHARGE
A Kennett school nurse is in custody following an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student.
Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Nicholas Jain provided KWOC News with a probable cause affidavit that says the Kennett Police Department received information this week that the Kennett High School nurse, 26 year old Candice Johnson, had been having a sexual relationship with a student.
Officials say the victim alleges the relationship had been going on since October of last year and included multiple sexual encounters.
Johnson was arrested on two counts of 2nd degree statutory rape and two counts of sexual contact with a student. Her bond was set at $40,000 and she is required to not have contact with children under the age of 17.
