TEXAN DIES IN I-55 CRASH

A Texas man is dead and two of his friends in intensive care after the car they were riding in collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 55 near Sikeston.

According to Missouri Highway Patrol officials, James F. Fox, 27, of Rockport, N.Y., was heading north on Interstate 55 at 5:15 a.m. when he failed to make the exit turn for Interstate 57, pulled onto the shoulder and started backing up. The truck jackknifed and blocked both northbound lanes.

Johnny Oliverez, 19, of Richardson, Texas, was driving a car northbound in the passing lane and hit the tractor trailer. The car went under the trailer and skidded off the road into a ditch.

Oliverez and his three passengers were taken to Missouri Delta Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Two sisters, Ana Cavala, 23, and Raquel Cavala, 16, were transferred to an intensive care unit at St. Frances Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

Ana Cavala had serious head injuries, said Derek Smith, a family friend from St. Louis. Raquel Cavala was not as seriously injured.

A third passenger, Caleb Rodriguez, 20, of Grand Prairie, Texas, suffered broken bones in his hands, Smith said.