Motor vehicle accidents claim lives of Sikeston residents

NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. - Separate motor vehicle accidents claimed the lives of two Sikeston, Mo., residents on Tuesday.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the first fatal crash occurred at around 9:15 a.m., when a 1998 Ford F150 driven by Paul D. Glaus, 66, of Sikeston was attempting to make a left-hand turn on U.S. 61 and pulled into the path of a 1993 Freightliner driven by Tony A. McCoy, 41, of Portageville, Mo. The Freightliner was passing the Ford moments before the crash, which took place 3 miles south of Sikeston.

Glaus was taken by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, where he was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m. McCoy sustained minor injuries while the occupant in the Ford, Matthew L. Marshall, 27, of Sikeston, was treated for serious injuries. Glaus and Marshall were not wearing a safety device at the time of the crash.

Later that evening, Leigh A. Brashear, 31, of Sikeston, was traveling by foot on Route AA 1 mile south of Miner, Mo., when a 2001 Dodge truck driven by Randy J. Marks, 44, of Sikeston, passed a slow-moving vehicle and struck Brashear. The accident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. Brashear was pronounced dead at the scene by New Madrid County coroner Jimmy McFadden at 8:27 p.m.

Through Tuesday evening nine people have died in 2009 on Missouri highways in Troop E's 13-county coverage area.