ACCIDENTS KEEP POLICE BUSY OVER WEEKEND

Several accidents occurred over the weekend in the Bootheel, according to the state Highway Patrol.

In an incident that took place Saturday afternoon, an East Prairie man attempted to escape from the patrol, running stop signs in East Prairie until he finally crashed into a tree, reported Trooper E.D. Williamson.

The man, Chad Steverson, 22, was flown by helicopter to Southeast Missouri Hospital, the Highway Patrol reported.

In Stoddard County, five miles north of Parma, another man was injured Sunday afternoon when his car ran off the roadway and into a ditch, where it overturned, according to Trooper D.B. Carnagey. Robert Williams, 33, of Dexter was also flown by helicopter to Southeast Missouri Hospital.

A girl from Cape Girardeau was injured Sunday evening in an one-car accident four miles west of Jackson. According to Trooper A.M. Harrison, Susan Friese, 17, was in a car driven by Erin Sides, 17, of Jackson when it ran off the right side of Highway 34. Sides overcorrected, driving the vehicle off the left side of the road, where it overturned.

Although Friese was taken to St. Francis Medical Center, she was treated and released, the hospital reported.

Henry Freeman, 26, of Hornersville, was taken to Twin Rivers Medical Center after an accident on Sunday.

Freeman was driving eastbound in Dunklin County on Route N, four miles south of Senath, about 3 a.m. Traveling at a high speed, Freeman ran off the north side of the road, hitting a ditch, then recovered back onto the roadway before going off the south side of the road. He finally hit a utility pole and overturned, the patrol reported.

In an accident late Saturday, Nena Lorenz, 22, of Sikeston was injured. She had been riding in a car northbound on Scott County Route BB near Sikeston when the driver lost control, going off the east side of the road and overturning, Trooper D.M. Markham reported.