Accident kills Poplar Bluff woman

A Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman was fatally injured in a vehicle accident early Sunday morning in Butler County.

Joan E. Burton, 67, was killed when the vehicle she was a passenger in ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. The driver of the vehicle, Jerry L. Evans of Naylor, Mo., received moderate injuries and was taken by ambulance to Poplar Bluff Regional Hospital.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Evans was traveling eastbound on Route M, four miles west of Poplar Bluff, at 1:30 a.m. when the accident occurred.

Charges are pending with the highway patrol.