Driver killed in fiery weekend crash identified through dental records

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff dentist confirmed Tuesday the identity of a man who died in a weekend fiery crash on Highway 142.

Through the use of dental records, Dr. Michael Price identified the person killed early Saturday morning as Terry L. Ethridge II, 20, of Broseley, Mo., said Butler County Coroner Jim Akers.

Ethridge was killed in a one-vehicle crash at about 2 a.m. on Highway 142, just south of the Highway 158 intersection.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Ethridge was driving south in a 1998 Ford when it ran off the roadway, struck a tree and caught fire.

Authorities were fairly certain Ethridge was the driver of the vehicle but were waiting on Price to confirm their suspicions.