JACKSON MAN LONE HOLIDAY FATALITY IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

The first three days of the Independence Day weekend yielded 37 accidents with 24 injuries and one fatality on Southeast Missouri roads, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

The fatal accident in Southeast Missouri occurred Sunday and took the life of motorcyclist Michael Garner, 27, of Jackson.

Eleven arrests for driving while intoxicated also were reported in the Troop E district.

Sixteen traffic-related deaths occurred statewide during the period from 12:01 a.m. Friday through midnight Monday. Final numbers for the five-day period will be available today. Last year, there were 20 fatalities over the four-day holiday weekend.

Garner was fatally injured at 4:30 p.m. Sunday when his motorcycle ran off U.S. Highway 61 near Shawneetown and struck a fence, throwing Garner from the vehicle. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and pronounced dead at 5:40 p.m.

Also Sunday, a Cape Girardeau man received injuries in a two-vehicle accident on Route W about 1 1/2 miles north of Fruitland.

Matthew Hill, 27, was taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital where he was treated and later released. Hill was traveling north on his motorcycle when another vehicle turned into his lane, police said.

The Illinois State Police in Ullin, Ill., reported one major accident in its Southern Illinois territory.

Seven people were injured Monday afternoon in a two-car accident in Hardin County. The driver of one of the vehicles, Kviichiro Sue, 37, and one of his passengers, Yoko Sue, 36, both of Japan, suffered major injuries and were rushed by Lifebeat helicopter to Paducah. The others involved suffered only minor injuries.

Although bangs and booms have been constantly reverberating throughout the area for the past several days, all has been quiet at area emergency rooms concerning fireworks-related injuries.

Emergency room personnel at St. Francis Medical Center reported no fireworks-related injuries Saturday through Tuesday afternoon. One emergency room worker said the lack of fireworks injuries around the Fourth of July is extremely uncommon.

"We usually have at least a few," she said.

At Southeast Missouri Hospital, only one incident was reported. That involved a person who had a firecracker go off in his shoe. The injury was minor.