BUTLER COUNTY MISHAPS KILL 2

POPLAR BLUFF -- Two people were killed and two more were seriously injured in three separate accidents in Butler County Saturday afternoon.

Ronald Rayfield, 45, of Poplar Bluff and his passenger, Danny Carroll, 39, of Fisk, were both killed when their vehicle ran off the edge of a bridge and overturned in a water-filled drainage ditch.

The accident occurred at 1:35 on County Road 663 1.5 miles north of Qulin.

A Missouri Highway Patrol spokesman said Rayfield's vehicle started skidding as it approached the wooden bridge and then ran off the edge.

Pedestrian James Smith, 83, sustained serious injuries after he was struck by a vehicle in Qulin Saturday.

The accident occurred at 12:40 on State Highway 53.

Smith was taken to Lucy Lee Hospital in Poplar Bluff and then flown by helicopter to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.

The vehicle was driven by Charles Berry, 58, of Malden. His grandson and passenger, 4-year-old Patrick Kelly, sustained minor injuries.

Susan Sisk, 22, of Poplar Bluff also sustained serious injuries when her vehicle overturned several times and burned.

The accident occurred at 3:44 Saturday 8.5 miles north of Poplar Bluff on Highway 67.

Sisk was taken to Lucy Lee Hospital and then flown to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.

The spokesman said Sisk's vehicle swerved around another vehicle making a left turn and she lost control. Sisk's vehicle overturned several times, came to rest in a ditch and burned.