Collision kills three in Callaway Co.

ASHLAND, Mo.-- Three men were killed when their car collided head-on with a pickup truck on a rural road about 20 miles southwest of Columbia, authorities said.

The accident occurred about 4:10 p.m. Friday when a car driven by Frank Puckett, 31, of New Bloomfield, crossed into the path of the oncoming pickup on Callaway County Route MM, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Puckett and two of his three passengers -- Dustin Wixson, 24, of Jefferson City, and Jason Blackwell, 25, of Fulton -- were pronounced dead at the scene, the patrol said.

The pickup truck caught fire after the collision, and its driver along with a fourth passenger in the car were taken to a hospital with injuries, according to the patrol.