15 die in weekend accidents

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports 15 motorists were killed on Missouri roads over the Labor Day weekend, one more than last year at the same time.

During the 2004 counting period of 6 p.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Monday the patrol investigated 307 traffic crashes including 164 injuries. Troopers arrested 144 for driving while intoxicated; last year 153 were arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Troop E, which covers Southeast Missouri, reported no highway deaths over the holiday counting period.

On Friday, two people died in St. Clair, including a St. Clair pedestrian who was killed when she crossed into the path of a vehicle which struck her on a rural Franklin County road.

Five people died in traffic crashes Saturday. Four Missourians were killed in vehicle crashes in Cameron, Mo., Grant City, Mo., Independence and Rockport, Mo. The fifth fatality occurred when a Mountain View, Mo. man lost control of the ATV he was driving, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree.

Five people were killed Sunday beginning with a Pleasant Hill motorcyclist who died when his motorcycle struck a deer and overturned in St. Clair County. Four others died in car crashes including a St. Louis man who was speeding through an intersection, lost control of his vehicle and struck an electrical signal in the median.

On Monday, three people were killed in Schuyler County, including a passenger in a vehicle that was towing a trailer that became separated from the vehicle. The trailer left the road, overturned and came to rest on its top.