A 2024 Freightliner Cascadia flipped onto its driver's side on Route A three miles west of New London on Friday morning, injuring both men inside and sending one of them on a helicopter ride to Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The truck's 40-year-old driver, a Phoenix man, was wearing his seat belt. The 35-year-old passenger, from Glendale, was not.
According to KTTN, the crash happened at 11:23 a.m. Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, when the westbound truck ran off the right side of the roadway, returned to the road, and rolled onto its side. Official Missouri State Highway Patrol crash records list both the driver and the passenger's injuries as serious, and note that the Freightliner was insured through Trigon Insurance, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The driver was taken by Ralls County ambulance to Hannibal Regional Hospital, the patrol's report states. His passenger's injuries were severe enough to require Survival Flight, which operates a dedicated air medical base at Hannibal Regional Hospital in neighboring Marion County — roughly 10 miles north of New London — allowing for a rapid launch to the rural crash scene, per Survival Flight. The unbelted passenger was flown to Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
A Seat Belt Rule That Applies to Passengers, Too
The gap between the two men's outcomes lines up with a federal requirement that's easy to overlook: under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulation 49 CFR 392.16, anyone riding in a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle equipped with seat belts is legally required to buckle up, not just the driver. Both the truck's driver and its motor carrier can be held responsible for compliance, per the regulation.
The crash was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The Freightliner sustained extensive damage and was towed from the scene by Scott's Towing, the patrol's report notes. Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Ralls County Sheriff's Office, the New London Fire Department, and the New London Police Department.
Route A Has Seen This Before
Route A Has Seen This Before Friday's rollover is not an isolated event on this stretch of rural highway. In April 2024, another Freightliner semi ran off the right side of Route A about two miles west of New London and overturned, injuring its 69-year-old driver, according to the Quincy Herald-Whig.
