A rural stretch of Route C in Miller County turned deadly Thursday when a 47-year-old Tuscumbia man’s pickup left the highway and flipped onto a fence about half a mile north of Ulman Ridge Road. Authorities said he was rushed to Lake Regional Hospital but died from his injuries, and that he had not been wearing a seat belt.
What troopers say
As reported by ABC17NEWS, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the man had been driving a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 on Route C when the truck went off the right side of the road. Troopers told the station he then overcorrected, causing the pickup to cross the center line and leave the left side of the highway before it overturned and landed on a fence. The 47-year-old Tuscumbia man was taken to Lake Regional Hospital, where he later died, according to the patrol.
Where it happened
The collision happened on a rural stretch of Missouri Route C near the small community of Ulman, roughly five miles south of Tuscumbia, per Wikipedia. That part of southern Miller County is made up of two-lane state roads connecting farms, lake communities, and small towns.
Seat belts and state trends
Per ABC17NEWS, troopers noted the driver was not wearing a seat belt. State surveys show seat-belt use has climbed in recent years; according to MoDOT, the 2025 survey put statewide usage at about 88.5 percent. Even so, unbuckled occupants still make up a disproportionate share of traffic deaths, especially on rural roads like Route C.
Safety push in Missouri
KSMU reported that state transportation and highway-patrol officials say traffic deaths have fallen over the last several years but remain significant, so they continue to emphasize seat-belt enforcement and distracted-driving campaigns. Local troopers provided details about Thursday’s crash to regional media as part of their routine crash reporting.
