Scores injured in U.S. 60 wreck near Dexter

EDITOR'S NOTE: As of 10 a.m., the Associated Press had corrected the number of injured to 26 instead of 33.

DEXTER, Mo. -- An accident involving 14 vehicles injured 22 people Monday on U.S. 60 between Dexter and Morehouse, Mo.

Eastbound lanes were closed for about six hours.

Five people sustained life-threatening injuries, said Andrew Juden, incident commander with the Stoddard County Ambulance District.

According to David Cooper, director of the Stoddard County Ambulance District, the accident was caused by thick, black smoke over the roadway.

A farmer was burning trash and started a nearby field on fire, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Authorities and ambulance crews were called to the scene just before noon.

Five Stoddard County ambulances were on scene, plus two from Sikeston, Mo., and one from New Madrid County. Medical helicopters were called to the scene as well.

"It's probably one of the worst accidents we've had in this part of the county in several years," Cooper said.

Nineteen of the injured were transported by ambulance and three were airlifted to area hospitals.

"The Dexter Fire Department extricated two patients from a vehicle. All the others were either out on arrival or ejected," Juden said.

The last patients were transported from the scene around 12:50 p.m.

The highway patrol, Stoddard County Sheriff's Department and other police agencies responded to the scene. Mutual aid was called in from Sikeston and New Madrid County, and the Dexter and Essex, Mo., fire departments also responded.

"We activated our mass casualty plan due to the number of patients," Juden said. "All agencies worked great together. We didn't have any problems. I was really impressed."

ehevern@semissourian.com

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