POPLAR BLUFF MAN KILLED WHEN HIT BY VAN

A Poplar Bluff man was killed Wednesday night as he walked along Highway 53 in Dunklin County.

In a separate accident Wednesday night, two young men were injured when their vehicle slid off a road and overturned in Bollinger County.

Killed in Dunklin County was Kenneth Rice, 50.

He was struck as he walked south in the southbound lane of Highway 53, about half a mile south of Gibson, said the Missouri Highway Patrol.

The driver of the van that struck Rice was Charles Ross, 58, of Hornersville. The accident occurred at 10 p.m.

Rice was pronounced dead at the scene.

In Bollinger County, driver John Overy, 17, of Oak Ridge and passenger Robert Griffith, 19, of Cape Girardeau were transported to Southeast Missouri Hospital with injuries.