ESSEX MAN IS SERIOUSLY HURT

An elderly Essex man who fell asleep at the wheel was seriously injured Friday afternoon when his vehicle struck a bridge east of Dexter, the Missouri Highway Patrol reported.

Wilson E. Langley, 79, suffered the injuries. He was taken to Dexter Memorial Hospital, said a spokesman with the patrol at Poplar Bluff.

The spokesman said Langley was driving a vehicle east on Missouri Highway 114 two miles east of Dexter when he fell asleep. The vehicle veered off the road to the left before striking the bridge, he said.

Langley, who was not wearing a seat belt, apparently had to be extricated from the vehicle by the Dexter Fire Department, he said. The vehicle was demolished.

The spokesman reported the accident as occurring at 4:55 p.m.