Morning accidents result in serious injury

Three people were injured in accidents on Southeast Missouri roads this morning within minutes of each other.

An early morning motor vehicle accident sent a Patton, Mo., man to a Cape Girardeau hospital with serious injuries while another backed up traffic for nearly 45 minutes on Interstate 55.

The first was a single-vehicle accident around 7:40 a.m. on Interstate 55 just south of Fruitland that reduced traffic to one lane for about 45 minutes. Soomin Kim, 25, of Cape Girardeau, was injured, the highway patrol reported on its crash reports website. Kim was traveling in the southbound lane near mile marker 105 when the 2004 Nissan she was driving went off the roadway onto a shoulder and struck a median barrier.

The Nissan was totaled.

Kim was transported by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, where she was treated for moderate injuries.

The second accident was reported at 7:44 a.m. and involved a head-on collision on Highway 72 near the Byrd Creek bridge four miles west of Jackson. A 2007 Ford driven by Andrew D. Oxford, 17, of Millersville was traveling eastbound and ran off the right side of the roadway. When Oxford tried to correct the Ford crossed the center line and struck a 1996 Jeep driven by Nicholas T. Webb, 17, of Patton.

The men were transported to Saint Francis Medical Center. Webb was treated for serious injuries while Oxford sustained minor injuries. Both vehicles were totaled.