A 23-year-old Sedalia woman was seriously injured Wednesday night when her car ran off Missouri Route O, struck a fence, swerved back across the roadway, and slammed into a tree about five miles north of Beaman in northern Pettis County. She was wearing her seatbelt at the time, according to the crash report, and was airlifted to a Columbia trauma center for treatment.
The crash happened around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday south of Lookout Road, according to KMMO. Per the crash report cited by ABC 17 News, the woman was driving a 2005 Lexus IS 300 southbound when the car ran off the right side of Route O, struck a fence, returned to the roadway, then went off the left side before hitting a tree. The Lexus was totaled, the outlet reported.
Pettis County Sheriff's deputies closed Route O between Farmers City Road and Lookout Road for about two hours Wednesday night so crews could carry out rescue operations and clear the wreckage, the same KMMO report notes.
Air Ambulance Rushed Driver to Columbia Trauma Center
The injured driver was flown to University Hospital in Columbia by Air Evac Lifeteam unit MU 3, per the report from KSIS Radio. The University of Missouri's trauma center is named for Frank L. Mitchell Jr., MD.
Crash Reports Do Not Name Those Involved
Missouri State Highway Patrol crash reports do not name the people involved in the wreck, according to ABC 17 News.
A Stretch of Highway With a History
Route O has seen tragedy before: Kansas City-based MoDOT senior maintenance worker Jay Bone was struck and killed in the line of duty during a flagging operation on the highway, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation's annual report. MoDOT has continued infrastructure work on the corridor since then, completing planned culvert replacements along Route O in Pettis County as recently as August.
Single-vehicle crashes like Wednesday's are not unusual on Missouri's rural highways. Statewide, single-vehicle accidents account for 58.2% of all fatal traffic crashes, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol statistical analysis. MSHP Troop A, which covers Pettis County and 12 surrounding west-central Missouri counties, recorded 191 traffic fatalities in 2025 and has reported a 12% decrease in vehicle fatalities so far in 2026, even as run-off-road wrecks remain a major share of the region's most severe collisions.
The crash comes just days after Hoodline reported on a fatal ultralight crash in the same county, underscoring a difficult stretch for emergency responders across Pettis County this month.
