Highway patrol seeking cause of fatal wreck

Southeast Missourian

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is still looking into the cause of the one-vehicle crash late Sunday morning that killed five people from Louisiana on southbound Interstate 55 two miles south of Scott City. The two survivors, driver Sammy Hearn, 47, of West Monroe, La., and Calvin Hamilton 21, of Monroe, La., remain in serious condition at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, according to the patrol. Four others, including two small children, were pronounced dead at the scene. Another fatal accident occurred on I-55 Saturday in New Madrid County, killing David L. Martin, 57, of Port Charlotte, Fla. The patrol reports Martin veered off the roadway and struck a southbound vehicle driven by Randall P. Slaughterback, 56, of Corydon, Ind.