Logs cause fatal accident on I-55

BENTON, Mo. -- A St. Louis man was killed Saturday afternoon in an accident that began when several logs came loose from a trailer on Interstate 55 in Southeast Missouri, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Daniel P. Ryan Jr., 18, was killed after his sport utility vehicle swerved to avoid the logs and overturned into the median, ejecting him from the vehicle, the patrol said. Ryan was then run over by another vehicle, which sideswiped a fourth vehicle trying to avoid him, the patrol said.

The log truck left the scene of the accident, which occurred at around 12:30 p.m. about four miles north of Benton.