INTERSTATE 55 ACCIDENT SPAWNS ANOTHER WRECK

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Three people were seriously injured Friday afternoon when their vehicle rear-ended a tractor trailer rig that had slowed because of another accident.

The three were taken to St. Francis Medical Center after the 4:40 p.m. accident in the southbound lane of I-55 at the Scott City exit. Scott City police did not release the names of the injured parties.

The truck had slowed because of a single-vehicle accident at the same spot on the northbound lane overpass.

Scott City Police Officer Roy Butler said that accident occurred when a vehicle in the passing lane struck a guard rail while trying to move over to the shoulder to allow a truck to enter the passing lane.

After colliding with the guard rail, Butler said, the vehicle hit a berm and then flipped over. It plummeted down a hill almost to the railroad tracks below

The driver was treated and released from Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was not identified.