MoDOT: Traffic delays could last through night at I-55 crash site

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Thursday collision two miles south of Sikeston in New Madrid County is expected to cause delays for motorists on Interstate 55.

At about 10:15 a.m., a 2011 Volvo tractor-trailer driven by Michael Rutland, 40, of Willis, Texas, crashed into a 2006 Ford F-250 driven by Randall Wehmeyer, 46, of Bland, Mo., in the southbound lane of I-55 near mile marker 64. Wehmeyer was working with a construction crew in the median when he drove his truck into the southbound lane in the path of Rutland's tractor-trailer.

According to trooper Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the tractor-trailer was carrying loads of paint, soybean oil and isopropyl ammonium, a hazardous material. Containers of isopropyl ammonium did not rupture, but the containers of paint and soybean oil leaked into the median.

Rutland sustained moderate injuries and was transported to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau; no injuries were reported for Wehmeyer.

The crash is under investigation by members of the highway patrol, the Department of Natural Resources, local hazardous material responders and the Department of Transportation.

The MoDOT website has posted information about traffic delays that could last up to 24 hours Motorists should expect delays when encountering the area.