A second person has died after a violent overnight crash early Friday on westbound Interstate 44 in Kirkwood, where an SUV and a tractor-trailer collided and shut down the highway for hours as emergency crews worked the scene. Troopers continued investigating through the night, and authorities later confirmed the additional death.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the crash was reported at about 12:30 a.m. Friday in the westbound lanes of I-44, just west of Elm Avenue. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, and a second person died later at a hospital as investigators tried to piece together how the wreck unfolded.
What officials said
The Missouri State Highway Patrol told First Alert 4 that troopers responded to a crash involving an SUV and a tractor-trailer and that westbound I-44 near Sappington Road was closed overnight while crews cleared the scene. The station reported that lanes reopened in the early morning hours once the debris and damaged vehicles were removed.
I-44 safety and local context
The deadly wreck comes on a stretch of interstate that state and local officials have already flagged for safety fixes. In May, MoDOT's Forward 44 package was detailed as a roughly $64 million plan to repave the roadway, replace bridges, and rebuild median barriers between Route 109 and Route 141.
The Post-Dispatch reported that authorities had not released the victims' names and that the Missouri State Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation. Officials had not immediately indicated whether any charges or citations might follow as troopers work to determine what led up to the fatal crash.
