3 dead in storms in Southern Missouri

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Storms that swept across southern Missouri are blamed for three deaths.

The storm system on Friday caused heavy rain and strong, dangerous winds.

Butler County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Thurman said two people were killed near Poplar Bluff when the wind knocked over a tree onto their car on Route 53.

In Dallas County, a man suffered a fatal heart attack after winds lifted him and his wife from their home and threw them into a building. County emergency management director Larry Highfill says the couple in their 70s lived in the small town of Charity.

Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Butler County Sheriff's Department, Poplar Bluff Police Department and Butler County Highway Department clean up the scene of a double fatal accident on Highway 53, about three miles south of Poplar Bluff, Mo., Friday, May 8, 2009. The 2005 Ford Expedition was traveling south when gusty storm winds apparently uprooted a large oak tree, which fell on the vehicle, killing both occupants. (AP Photo/Daily American Republic, Paul Davis)

Names of all three of those killed in the storms were not released.

Authorities say many homes and businesses across the state were damaged, including 50 homes destroyed in Dallas County.

Emergency crews from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Butler County and Poplar Bluff clean up the scene of a double fatal accident on Highway 53, about three miles south of Poplar Bluff, Mo., Friday, May 8, 2009. The 2005 Ford Expedition was traveling south when gusty storm winds apparently uprooted a large oak tree, which fell on the vehicle, killing both occupants. (AP Photo/Daily American Republic, Paul Davis)