A two-vehicle crash on MO-185 at Hawthorn Drive in Franklin County left an 84-year-old Sullivan man seriously injured and sent a 35-year-old state trooper to a local hospital with minor injuries Saturday afternoon. The collision happened around 3:54 p.m. when a Ram 1500 failed to yield while making a left turn and the northbound 2025 Dodge Durango patrol vehicle struck the right side of the truck, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the crash. The patrol SUV skidded and rotated, while the pickup struck an embankment. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision, per the patrol.
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The patrol driver, a 35-year-old Weldon Spring resident, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Mercy Baptist Sullivan Hospital, according to The Missourian. Paramedics with the Sullivan Ambulance District responded to the scene and handled that transport, per the same account.
The Ram driver, an 84-year-old Sullivan resident, was seriously injured in the crash and airlifted to Mercy Hospital St. Louis by Arch 6 air medical service, the outlet's report notes. His current condition has not been publicly updated.
Franklin County falls under MSHP Troop C, an 11-county division in East Central Missouri headquartered in Weldon Spring, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The crash comes amid a string of fatal motorcycle wrecks along the I-44 corridor in recent months, including a fatal motorcycle sign strike on I-44 near Stanton. Whether MSHP will issue citations in Saturday's crash, and whether the trooper was responding to a call at the time, remain open questions.
