A 28-year-old Ellington man was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital after his pickup truck left the roadway and struck an embankment on Walnut Street in Ellington, a crash that also left him facing a driving while intoxicated citation. David R. Kuntz was behind the wheel of a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado traveling westbound when the truck went off the road Wednesday night.
According to Ozark Radio News, the crash occurred at approximately 8:56 p.m. on October 28. The outlet reports that Kuntz was transported by air ambulance to Mercy South Hospital in St. Louis for treatment. The circumstances of the crash were reported by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Troopers reported that Kuntz was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, the station notes. He was cited for driving while intoxicated and for failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, per the same account. The report does not indicate the severity of his injuries or provide an update on his condition following the airlift.
A Pattern of Serious Crashes Near Ellington
This is not the only recent crash to send Ellington-area residents to a St. Louis hospital. Two women from Ellington, ages 68 and 86, were airlifted to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis after a head-on collision, according to a separate Ozark Radio News report. In that incident, a northbound 2019 Chevrolet Spark crossed the center line and struck a southbound 2018 Chevrolet Equinox; both vehicles were totaled and towed from the scene.
That crash happened on Highway 21, about five miles south of Ellington, on Monday, August 31, as reported by KFVS12. Two drivers were seriously injured in that head-on wreck, the station reported, underscoring how rural stretches of road near Ellington have seen more than one serious crash in recent months.
Impaired Driving Remains a Statewide Concern
Statewide, impaired driving accounts for 18% of traffic fatalities in Missouri, according to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety. The coalition's page also reports that alcohol-related fatalities in Missouri decreased slightly in 2023, even as drug-related fatalities had steadily increased over the preceding decade.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol's own crash-report system notes that the information it publishes is preliminary and limited to injury and fatal crashes investigated by the Patrol, excluding crashes handled by other agencies. No court filing, plea, or case disposition tied to Kuntz's citations has been reported, and the evidence underlying the DWI citation has not been detailed publicly.
