One dead after vehicle carrying gunshot wound victims crashes

SIKESTON, Mo. — A vehicle with two individuals who suffered gunshot wounds was involved in a crash Sunday night in Sikeston, leaving one dead.

According to Sikeston Department of Public Safety Sgt. Tyler Rowe, officers responded to Main and Malone streets for a motor vehicle crash at 9:06 p.m. Sunday. Officers found a tan passenger car lying on its passenger side and a blue truck, both of which sustained extensive damage from the collision.

Sikeston Fire Division personnel arrived on scene to extricate two victims from the car, and they were transferred to the care of South Scott County Ambulance. Both subjects in the passenger car had gunshot wounds stemming from a shooting in Charleston, Missouri, earlier in the evening.

The driver of the passenger car was transported to Missouri Delta Medical Center and later transferred to a St. Louis hospital for further care. The passenger of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene by Scott County Coroner Scott Branum.

The occupants of the blue GMC pickup sustained minor injuries and declined treatment while on scene. Officers investigated the crash and determined the tan passenger car was traveling north on Main Street and failed to stop at the red light at the intersection. The truck was attempting to turn east on to Malone Street from Main and was struck by the passenger car.

The state Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control sent investigators to Charleston and the Sikeston accident scene to conduct the investigation. The roadway was shut down for several hours awaiting the state investigators.

Charleston Department of Public Safety director Robert Hearnes said that at about 9 p.m. Sunday, an officer with Charleston DPS heard gunshots in the area of West Ada Street. The officer responded to the area but was unable to locate anything, Hearnes said.

A short time later, Hearnes said, the serious accident at the intersection of Main and Malone streets in Sikeston occurred. An occupant of the vehicle, 18-year-old Zionta Haynes of Charleston, had been shot and was deceased, the police chief said.

"Our agency was later notified that a shooting had happened at 401 West Ada St.," Hearnes said on Monday afternoon. "The area was secured and evidence of a shooting was located. The information so far indicates that Haynes was shot at 401 Ada St."

Haynes was transported by private vehicle to Sikeston. That vehicle was headed to Missouri Delta Medical Center when the accident took place. The driver of the vehicle, an 18-year-old female, was seriously wounded in the accident and was also thought to have been shot, Hearnes said.

The investigation is in its early stages, and further information will be released later, Hearnes said.

The state Highway Patrol and the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department are assisting in the investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident may contact Charleston DPS at (573) 683 3737.