Marble Hill drivers injured in wreck near Burfordville

iSoutheast Missourian

Two Marble Hill, Mo., drivers were seriously injured Friday afternoon on Highway UU, about a mile and a half north of Burfordville in Cape Girardeau County.

David Collins, 38, was driving his 1989 Chevrolet Camaro southbound when he crossed the center line and struck a 1997 Jeep driven by James Hill, 33, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

When Collins hit, his body broke the steering column off of his car, said trooper Aaron Harrison. "He ended up face down in back seat, with both of his shoes still pinned in the front floorboard."

The head-on collision knocked Hill's Jeep off the road. It rolled once before coming to rest upright.

Harrison said Hill had saw the oncoming car and attempted to move out of the way, but they hit on a curve about 188 feet north of County Road 351.

"That's a real bad curve," Harrison said.

Emergency workers used the Jaws of Life to extricate both men before they were placed on helicoptors and flown to St. Francis Regional Medical Center.

Citations were issued to Collins for failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, not using a seat belt and for no proof of insurance.