FOUR-VEHICLE CRASH KILLS MAN

POPLAR BLUFF -- A Van Buren man was killed in a four-vehicle accident Wednesday morning in Butler County.

The accident occurred at 11 a.m. on U.S. Highway 60 seven miles west of Poplar Bluff.

William Asberry, 27, of Elsinore was traveling west when his vehicle collided with a vehicle driven by Charles Smith, 32, of Kennett.

Mark Mobley, 28, a passenger in Asberry's vehicle, was pronounced dead after being taken to Lucy Lee Hospital. Neither he nor Asberry were wearing a seat belt, said a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

After being hit by Asberry, Smith was hit by a vehicle driven by Mark Dement, 28, of Ellington.

Dement's vehicle was then hit from behind by a vehicle driven by Marie Kirchoff, 27, of Van Buren. All drivers and passengers in the vehicles were wearing seat belts.

The fatality marked the 71st accident-related death for Troop E.