A 69-year-old Lake Ozark man was airlifted to the hospital Saturday afternoon after a pickup truck struck him while he was trying to remove an animal from the roadway on Missouri 52 at Pace Road in Miller County. The crash happened around 12:15 p.m. when a 30-year-old Barnett woman driving the pickup crested a hill and could not stop in time.
The man suffered serious injuries and was flown to University Hospital by air ambulance, according to KOMU 8. The outlet reported that the pickup was traveling eastbound on Missouri 52 when the driver came over the hill and spotted the man in the road. As detailed by krmsradio.com, the man had stepped into the roadway in an attempt to remove an animal when the pickup reached him.
The driver tried to swerve out of the way but was unable to avoid the collision. Per krcgtv.com, the driver attempted to swerve to avoid hitting the man, but the crash still occurred at 12:15 p.m. on Route 52 at Pace Road. The station reported that the driver sustained no injuries, while the pickup itself came away with only minor damage.
Details Drawn From Highway Patrol Report
The crash information circulating about the incident traces back to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, as noted by abc17news.com. The man's name, the driver's identity beyond her age and hometown, the type of animal involved, and whether any citations were issued have not been made public.
Part Of A Troubling Statewide Pattern
The crash lands amid a stretch of worrying numbers for pedestrian safety across Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that 148 pedestrians were struck and killed on state roadways in 2024, a 16% jump from the year before and the highest single-year total ever recorded in the state, according to kcur.org. Patrol officials described it as a concerning trend of rising pedestrian deaths.
That rise in pedestrian fatalities came even as overall traffic deaths in Missouri ticked downward. Preliminary figures showed 954 people died in Missouri traffic crashes in 2024, a decrease of 4% from 2023 and 10% compared to 2022, the same report noted. Distracted driving contributed to more than 100 deaths in both 2023 and 2024, patrol data showed.
No further details on the Lake Ozark man's condition following his transport to University Hospital have been released.
