SIKESTON MAN DIES IN CRASH

SIKESTON -- A Sikeston man died in a two-vehicle accident in New Madrid County early Saturday.

Gerald "Wayne" Taylor, 46, was killed in an accident on Highway 60, two miles west of Sikeston at 12:45 a.m.

Taylor's pickup truck was eastbound when it was struck by a westbound truck driven by Terry Watkins, 24, of Bolivar.

Watkins' vehicle was in the wrong lane, the Missouri Highway Patrol said.

Watkins was injured and admitted to St. Francis Medical Center where he was reported in stable condition Saturday in the surgical intensive care unit.

A passenger in Watkins' vehicle, David Gilbert, 33, of Longview was admitted to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was reported in stable condition Saturday.

Taylor's death is the 42nd fatality this year in the patrol's Troop E area of Southeast Missouri. Last year at this time, 45 people had died in traffic accidents.