A Monday afternoon drive on Missouri Route 39 ended in tragedy when a Marionville woman was killed after her vehicle left the road and overturned north of Aurora. Emergency crews found the driver ejected from the vehicle, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
What Happened
According to The Turner Report, the victim, a 74-year-old Marionville woman, was driving a 1993 Chevrolet delivery-style vehicle southbound on Route 39 about three miles north of Aurora when the vehicle began to skid. The report states that the vehicle then left the roadway and overturned, ejecting the driver.
As reported by AOL, troopers say the crash happened around 1:40 p.m. Lawrence County Coroner Scott Lakin pronounced the driver dead at the scene about 1:50 p.m. Investigators noted that she was not wearing a seat belt and that next of kin had been notified.
Troop D Tally
The Highway Patrol counted the crash as the 67th fatality this year for Troop D, according to The Turner Report. It is a stark reminder of how quickly a single-vehicle skid on a rural highway can turn deadly.
Seat Belts And Ejection Risk
Ejections are strongly associated with not using restraints and are frequently fatal. Lap-and-shoulder belts reduce the risk of a fatal injury by roughly 45%, according to research summarized by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and federal crash data.
IIHS and NHTSA note that occupants who are ejected face a substantially higher risk of death than those who remain restrained.
Investigation Ongoing
Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers are investigating the crash, and authorities have not released the driver’s name pending family notification, according to AOL. The patrol has not released additional information about the collision.
