ICY ROADS CONTRIBUTE TO ACCIDENTS, KILL MAN

A glaze of ice that awaited morning commuters Friday contributed to five vehicle accidents between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. in Cape Girardeau. An accident on Interstate 55 near Scott City claimed the life of a 19-year-old man.

The National Weather Service at Paducah, Ky., reported the temperature dipped below freezing at about 7 p.m. Thursday and continued to drop, bottoming out at 28 degrees at 2 a.m. Friday. A light, freezing rain began to fall at 6 a.m. and continued for at least the next two hours.

By 10 a.m., warming temperatures cleared the roads.

"One of the things that people need to consider when there are adverse weather conditions, whether it be ice or just rain when the road is wet, is to leave more room between them and the vehicle in front of them," said Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Kevin Orr. "We advise them to slow down and be more aware of all surroundings."

Cape Girardeau police reported that I-55 and Nash Road was the scene of two accidents within 10 minutes apart Friday at 5:30 a.m. and 5:40 a.m. Cemetery Drive and Caruthers was the site of an accident at 7:10 a.m. At 8:47 a.m., an accident occurred at Broadway and Helena, and at 9:33 a.m. an accident occurred at West End Boulevard and Independence.

Local law enforcement agencies reported two other morning accidents outside the city.

Robert Ketterer, 19, of Wyatt, Mo., died early Friday from injuries received in the accident at 7:20 a.m. on I-55 near Scott City, the Scott County Sheriff's Department reported. "He lost control on an icy bridge one mile south of Scott City," said the Missouri Highway Patrol. "He ran off the roadway into the median, then he came back onto the roadway and was struck by another vehicle," the patrol said.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reported that three local residents received minor injuries in a car accident four miles north of Cape Girardeau on I-55. At approximately 6:20 a.m., the driver of the car lost control of the vehicle, it left the roadway, overturned and came to rest on its wheels. The driver and two passengers were transported to Southeast Missouri Hospital by ambulance.