4 killed in train-car crash near Dexter

DEXTER, Mo. — Four people were killed, including two children, during a collision between a car and a train south of Dexter on Friday afternoon.

At 1:25 p.m. Friday on County Road 732, one mile south of Dexter, a westbound car driven by Maura N. Peters, 19, of Dexter crossed into the path of a southbound Union Pacific train driven by Robert E. Bajorek, 53, of Little Rock, Arkansas.

According to earlier reports, the car came to rest on the west side of the tracks about a quarter-mile from the impact.

Pronounced dead at the scene at 1:48 p.m. Friday by Stoddard County Coroner Kenny Pope were Peters and the passengers in the vehicle: Weston L. Crider, 1, and Hailey E. Laws, 20, of Bloomfield, Missouri. A third passenger, infant Bryson M. Umfleet of Dexter, was pronounced dead at Twin Rivers Medical Center in Kennett, Missouri, at 4:40 p.m.

Seriously injured in the accident was Vidalia L. Mace of Bloomfield. She was taken by air ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau for treatment. She was listed in stable condition Friday night.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s report, the train intersection is marked with cross bucks only.

Dexter police, Stoddard County EMS, the Dexter Fire Department’s Extrication Team and the highway patrol assisted at the scene.

Pertinent address:

County Road 732, Dexter, Mo.