ESSEX MAN DIES IN CRASH

ESSEX, Mo. -- An Essex man was killed Tuesday afternoon when his vehicle ran off the side of the roadway and struck a culvert on a county road two miles south of Essex.

Orville Miller Jr., 44, was killed after he was thrown from his vehicle and it rolled over on top of him. The accident occurred at 5 p.m.

Miller was not wearing a seat belt, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman.

At almost the same time, an accident occurred at the junction of Routes 61 and C, about two miles north of Fruitland, injuring three people.

A Highway Patrol spokesman said Luther Cooper, 80, of Jackson, pulled out of Route C onto Route 61 in front of a northbound vehicle driven by Donald McClard, 45, also of Jackson.

McClard broadsided Cooper's vehicle, a spokesman said. Cooper and McClard were wearing seat belts and received moderate injuries.

McClard's wife Helen, 45, was not wearing a seat belt and sustained serious injuries in the crash.

All three were transported to Southeast Missouri Hospital.