One person is dead and two others were flown to the hospital after a multi-vehicle crash shut down part of U.S. Highway 63 in Osage County on Saturday afternoon. The wreck happened around 3 p.m. at U.S. 63 and County Road 512, just south of Westphalia and roughly 15 miles southeast of Jefferson City, blocking the roadway and prompting troopers to urge drivers to find another route.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Kyle Green confirmed that one person died as a result of the crash, according to ABC 17 News. MSHP Troop F, which posted about the crash on social media, said a helicopter was en route for two patients, though the agency has not specified how many vehicles were involved or whether any other crash participants were hurt. Troop F is headquartered in Jefferson City and covers 13 counties across central Missouri, including Osage, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The identity of the person killed has not been released. Per MSHP crash reporting protocols, agencies withhold the personal identities of fatal crash victims from public preliminary summaries until next of kin has been officially notified, which is standard procedure across all Troop F operations. The crash resulted in injuries beyond the fatality, though the total number of vehicles involved and the condition of the two patients airlifted from the scene remain unclear.
Preliminary Reports and What Comes Next
Troop F's initial social media post functions as a preliminary summary, and those early details are subject to change. The Missouri State Highway Patrol automatically posts preliminary crash summaries online directly from troop radio rooms, and those reports stay publicly accessible for 29 days before a finalized report is issued following a minimum 10-day administrative review. That review process explains why specifics like vehicle counts and injury severity often lag behind initial crash announcements.
Under Missouri Revised Statutes Section 43.250, all law enforcement agencies in the state are required to submit an official uniform crash report for any collision involving injury, death, or property damage exceeding $500. That statute mandates the kind of standardized data collection that will eventually fill in the gaps left by Saturday's preliminary report.
A Familiar Stretch of Highway
U.S. Highway 63 runs more than 337 miles across 13 Missouri counties, from the Arkansas line north to Iowa, and it consistently ranks among the state's top ten roadways for total vehicle crashes, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. The rural stretch through Osage County includes several two-lane sections that regional planners have flagged for years. The Meramec Regional Planning Commission has consistently ranked safety improvements and four-lane expansion along U.S. 63 in Osage County among its top regional transportation priorities, Phelps County Focus has reported.
Troop F recorded 60 motor vehicle fatalities across its 13-county central Missouri jurisdiction in 2025, a decline from 69 in 2024 and 80 in 2023. Statewide, seat belt use among drivers and front-seat passengers reached 88.5% in 2025, yet unrestrained occupants still account for roughly 60% of vehicle fatalities in Missouri, according to MoDOT data. It is not known whether seat belts were a factor in Saturday's crash.
Troop F advised drivers to avoid the area around U.S. 63 and County Road 512 and to use an alternate route while the scene was cleared. The cause of the crash, the exact number of vehicles involved, and the condition of the two patients taken by helicopter remain open questions as the investigation continues.
