Accident ties up I-55 traffic for half-hour

Traffic on Interstate 55 was backed up for about half an hour after a one-vehicle accident near the Dutchtown exit.

A woman was traveling north in a Pontiac Bonneville, hit the median and flew 95 feet over Ramsay Creek around 6 p.m.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department extricated the woman around 6:40 p.m., and by about 7 p.m. were able to load her into an ambulance.

A truck driver stopped at the scene said the woman had passed him several miles before the accident scene but wasn't traveling at a high rate of speed or talking on a cell phone.

The vehicle had handicapped license plates.

An officer at the scene wasn't able to release the severity of the woman's injuries, although emergency personnel said the woman complained of chest pains.

Officers continued to monitor traffic and rerouted northbound traffic off the Dutchtown exit for up to an hour after the accident.