4 killed, 3 children hurt in wrong-way crash near Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. --Four people -- including a child -- were killed and three other children were seriously injured in a crash caused by a wrong-way driver a few miles north of Columbia, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.

The crash happened around 7:30 p.m. Monday on Highway 63, when a car traveling south in the northbound lanes crashed head-on into a sport utility vehicle carrying six people, the Daily Tribune reported.

The crash killed the car's driver, Keith Sumner, 19, of Rocheport, according to the patrol. Also killed were the SUV's driver, Jessica McKinlay, 29, of Columbia; a passenger, Christopher McClain, 34, of Columbia, and a 10-year-old girl. Three other children -- a 2-year-old girl, a 3-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy -- in the SUV were taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

Patrol investigators said Sumner and McKinlay were wearing seat belts, but none of the passengers in the SUV were restrained. Two of the passengers were thrown from the SUV in the crash, officials said.