DELTA MAN DIES ON BRIDGE; RIVER SPAN CLOSED MOST OF AFTERNOON

A fatal wreck shut down the Mississippi River bridge for more than four hours Friday.

Casey A. Gravlett, 18, of Delta was killed when his westbound pickup truck hit an eastbound fuel tanker truck loaded with gasoline nearly head-on on the bridge.

Gravlett was killed instantly.

Thomas Webb, 29, of Murphysboro, Ill., the driver of the tanker truck, suffered minor injuries, Illinois State Police said.

Gravlett apparently lost control of his pickup on wet pavement, struck the north side of the bridge and traveled into the eastbound lane, striking Webb's truck.

The accident is still under investigation.

Traffic was backed up for miles on both sides of the bridge Friday afternoon. The accident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. on the Illinois side of the bridge. The bridge was reopened at about 6:30 p.m.

Along Morgan Oak and Sprigg streets in Cape Girardeau, motorists were pulled over as they waited for police to clear the bridge.

At about 5 p.m., Cape Girardeau police delivered drinking water to motorists stranded by the accident.

Cpl. Kevin Orr waved motorists away from the bridge route at Lorimier and Morgan Oak.

"You clear out about 50 or 60 cars, and then they stack up again," Orr said.

Officers from the Illinois State Police, the Alexander County, Ill., Sheriff's Department and Cape Girardeau Police Department were on the scene, as were firefighters from East Cape Girardeau and Cape Girardeau.

Investigators and firefighters slipped and slid on spilled diesel fuel and motor oil on the bridge as they worked the accident.

The accident was one of more than a dozen reported around the Cape Girardeau area Friday. Police blamed wet roads.

At one point Friday afternoon, Cape Girardeau police were working seven accidents in the city, a dispatcher said.

By Friday night, the police log showed 14 accident reports had been filed in the city, and officers were still working on completing a few more reports.

Friday afternoon was hectic as police and rescue workers tried to move from one scene to the next.

"Things are going kind of nuts," said officer Robert Rippe.