MULTI-CAR ACCIDENT LEAVES 3 INJURED

Cape Girardeau police officer Bill Bohnert's first day back on shift work just wasn't what he planned.

Bohnert was dispatched to the intersection of William and Broadview at about 4:35 p.m. Tuesday, to a report of a multiple-car accident that was blocking the roadway.

He arrived to discover a woman in a dark red Buick sitting in the middle of an intersection, a gray sports car facing east in the left turn lane of westbound traffic -- the front ends of both cars smashed. A white compact car also involved in the initial accident pulled off to the side of the road.

Bohnert said that the gray car was headed east on William, when driver Leonard Waldron of Jackson ran the red light at the Broadview intersection, causing him to collide with the lady in the maroon car, Burdetta Frazier of Cape Girardeau. The gray car then ricocheted off the white car, driven by Marie Statler of Cape Girardeau, which was turning east on William from Broadview.

"The lady in the maroon car was really shaken up," said Bohnert, who parked his patrol car across the eastbound lanes of William at Broadview to prevent more traffic from driving through or around the scene. "I was over there tending to her, when I heard the wheels screech."

What Bohnert heard was a westbound Pontiac Firebird, driven by Christopher Knowlton of Jackson, who had run the red light on William and collided with an eastbound, dark green Dodge Caravan right next to Bohnert's patrol car.

"I turned around just in time to see the van flip over on my patrol car," said Bohnert. "It was like it happened in slow motion.

"At that point, I started screaming for backup," said Bohnert.

By the time all was said and done, three fire trucks, four patrol cars, three city trucks and two ambulances arrived at the scene. The woman driving the van, Darlene Dunning of Cape Girardeau, was trapped when her vehicle overturned and was extricated by firefighters. Fire personnel then spent about five minutes looking for the woman's purse.

Two other drivers were transported to area hospitals, where they were treated for minor injuries and later released.

Rush-hour traffic was backed-up on William, Broadview and West Lane for about an hour, as workers cleared the wreckage from the roadway. Bohnert's patrol car -- which sustained moderate damage to the driver's door and footprints on the hood -- was the only vehicle that could be driven from the scene.