Jefferson City, MO – Eight people were killed in traffic crashes and one person drowned during the July Fourth holiday period, according to preliminary reports from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The counting period lasted from 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 3, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 7.
According to Capt. Scott B. White, troopers responded to 382 traffic crashes, resulting in 159 injuries and eight fatalities. Among the fatalities, three occurred in the Troop B, Macon area, two each in the Troop C, Weldon Spring and Troop D, Springfield areas, and one in the Troop I, Rolla area.
On the water, troopers investigated ten boating crashes, with seven injuries but no fatalities. However, one person drowned at Stockton Lake on Saturday. Craig H. Olson, 60, of Shawnee, KS, went under the water and did not resurface while swimming near a vessel. Cedar County Deputy Coroner Joe Trussel pronounced Olson dead at the scene.
