A 60-year-old woman from Thompson died Friday night after the utility vehicle she was driving swerved to avoid a deer, overturned and threw her onto Audrain County Road 209 northwest of Mexico, Missouri. She was not wearing a seat belt when she was ejected, and she was pronounced dead at the scene less than an hour after the crash.
How the Crash Unfolded
According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report cited by komu.com, the woman was driving her UTV southbound on Audrain County Road 209 when she crashed around 8:50 p.m. She swerved to avoid a deer in the roadway, traveled off the left side of the road, overturned and became airborne before the vehicle came to rest back on the roadway.
The woman was ejected from the UTV during the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:49 p.m., per the crash report. She was later transported to Arnold Funeral Home in Mexico, and her UTV was totaled, the report notes. Separately, krcgtv.com reported that she had been operating a 2019 Polaris General 1000 at the time of the crash. The report attributed to The Maryville Forum matches these same details of the crash sequence.
A Rough Stretch for Missouri Troopers
The crash marked Troop F's seventh fatality in September and its 49th traffic fatality of 2026, according to the crash report. It's the latest in a string of deadly UTV wrecks logged across the state's rural roads this year, several of which followed a similar pattern: a driver swerving to avoid an animal, leaving the roadway, and overturning without the protection of a seat belt.
In Cape Girardeau County, a 44-year-old Whitewater man died on Aug. 21 when he swerved to avoid a cow and his 2022 Polaris Ranger overturned on County Road 376 about four miles west of Gordonville, as reported by kttn.com. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:02 p.m. and had not been wearing a seat belt; that crash was logged as Troop E's 37th traffic fatality of 2026. The following day, a 43-year-old Sedalia man died in Benton County after his 2024 Yamaha Wolverine struck a tree and overturned, coming to rest on top of him — a crash the same outlet says was investigated by Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper B. G. Katzing, with Benton County Coroner Weston Miller pronouncing him dead at the scene at 6:33 p.m.
No further details about the Audrain County crash investigation have been released.
