Scott City man dies in wreck on icy roads

Icy roads in Southeast Missouri claimed the life of a Scott City man who was ejected from his car as it slid of Interstate 55 in New Madrid County.

Joshua K. Holshouser, 32, was killed shortly after noon when the northbound 2004 GMC pickup truck in which he was a passenger went off the right side of the road about four miles north of New Madrid, Mo.

According to the accident report filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Jacob A. Schubert, 29, of Jackson was driving when the truck left the road and overturned. Another passenger in the pickup, Kendal E. Mungle, 63, of Cape Girardeau was seriously injured in the wreck.

Schubert was unhurt.

Both Holshouser and Mungle were taken by ambulance to the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo., where Holshouser was pronounced dead by Dr. Brad Angelof.

The accident was one of dozens caused by the accumulating ice that was coating the region and is expected to continue building until midnight or later.

Police are reporting car accidents on roads throughout the Cape Girardeau area caused by ice from the winter storm.

And roads are unlikely to get much better any time soon. The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., is forecasting temperatures to reach a high of 24 degrees today in Cape Girardeau, meaning roads will likely stay slick for a while to come.

Mike Helpinstine, district maintenance engineer with MoDOT's Southeast district, said at temperatures like today's there's little that can be done to keep roads clear.

MoDOT crews applied brine salt to the roads this morning, but Helpinstine said for the salt to become chemically active, temperatures need to be in the high 20s.

"The best we can hope for is to maintain the conditions we have now," Helpinstine said.

By 1:30 p.m., 19 accidents were reported in Cape Girardeau, police spokesman Sgt. Barry Hovis said. Another 50 calls reporting deteriorating road conditions were also reported.

In Jackson, police Capt. Robert Hull said his department had responded to three accident reports, with four to five additional calls of cars sliding off roads.

Scott County Sheriff's Department dispatcher Stephanie Turner said shortly before noon that most roads were slick and two accidents had been reported in the southern part of the county.In rural Cape Girardeau County, the slick roads caused several accidents but no reported injuries, said Capt. Ruth Ann Dickerson of the sheriff's department. Most of the worst road conditions were being reported along Highway 74 in northwest Cape Girardeau County.

Cape Girardeau firefighters responded to an accident on Highway 74 in response to a call for aid from the Gordonville Fire District, firefighter Joe Shuffler said. Another motor vehicle accident with injuries took place at Themis Street and Silver Springs Road, he said, but he was unsure of the number or extent of the injuries.

Slip and fall accidents occurred on the Southeast Missouri State University campus and on Linden Street, Shuffler said.

For updates, check back at www.semissourian.com or read Tuesday's Southeast Missourian.