FATAL ACCIDENT CLOSES I-57

CHARLESTON -- A part of Interstate 57 interchange was closed for nearly nine hours Thursday following a double fatality tractor-trailer accident.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said the accident occurred when the driver fell asleep.

The driver, Erin Wynn, 41, and a passenger, Randolph Pryor, 43, both of Olive Branch, Miss., died when their truck ran off the interstate near Charleston and struck a concrete pillar, the patrol said.

The accident occurred at approximately 6:15 a.m.

Southbound I-57 at the Route 105 interchange remained closed until 3 p.m., when one lane reopened. The second lane reopened early Thursday evening.