One dead after Tuesday car crash in Stoddard County

DEXTER, Mo. -- A Parma, Mo., man lost his life in a head-on wreck Tuesday afternoon one mile south of Dexter on Highway 25, the Dexter Daily Statesman reported.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 65-year-old Herschell D. Sloan crossed the center line about 3 p.m. Tuesday as he was northbound on Highway 25, crashing head-on into a 2004 Buick driven by Pearl F. Thornton, 79, of Gideon, Mo., who suffered serious injuries in the accident.

Sloan's wife, 56-year-old Carolyn S. Sloan, and a passenger, Shon B. White, 41, also of Parma, sustained serious injuries.

The Sloan truck was pulling a utility flatbed trailer at the time of the wreck, which carried a refrigerator and several bags of recyclable cans that were strewn about the highway. The trailer remained attached but mangled in the wreckage.

Traffic on Highway 25 was rerouted for well over an hour following the accident, as emergency vehicles and debris covered the highway.

Along with four patrol units, Stoddard County sheriff's deputies, the Dexter Fire and Extrication Team and Stoddard County Ambulance District responded to the scene.

Carolyn Sloan and Thornton were taken to a Cape Girardeau hospital by helicopter for treatment of their injuries.

Dexter's extrication team worked for over half an hour to free Thornton from her vehicle. The impact of the accident threw the Thornton car several feet into the ditch alongside the west side of Highway 25. The Sloan truck came to rest facing northwest in the southbound lane of traffic.

According to the patrol, the only crash victim from either vehicle wearing a safety device was Thornton.

Sloan was pronounced dead at the scene by Stoddard County Coroner Dale Sifford. The fatality marked the 27th in Troop E for the year.