Missouri roads have eight deaths during weekend

At least eight people were reported killed in traffic accidents on Missouri roads during the long holiday weekend.

Thomas Smith, 15, of St. Joseph, Mo., died Tuesday after the car he was in ran off a Buchanan County road and overturned about 2 a.m., the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Frank Akers, 88, of Potosi, Mo., died Sunday when his car went off Route AA in Washington County, overturned and struck a tree, the patrol said.

Wilma Walkenhorst, 75, of New Haven, Mo., died Sunday when she lost control of the pickup truck she was driving in Washington and struck a concrete barrier, Washington police said.

James Aldrich, 35, of Oak Grove, Mo., died Sunday when he was thrown from his overturning car on Interstate 70 in Jackson County, the patrol said.

Amanda McGehe, 16, of Hannibal, Mo., died Sunday when her car went off the side of Ralls County Route V near New London and struck a tree.

Sheryll Gasperoni, 24, of St. Louis died Saturday evening when the car she was riding in went off the side of an Interstate 170 exit ramp in north St. Louis County.

John Stuart, 84, of Bunker, Mo., was killed Saturday when he was thrown from his car as it overturned on Reynolds County Route PP five miles west of Bunker.

Candace Kraft, 18, of Liberty, Mo., died in a one-car wreck in Clay County early Saturday. Kraft's car left the road and caught fire in a rural area, police said.

Last year, 12 people died on Missouri roads during the holiday counting period.