Those hurt in accident out of hospital

Seven people involved in the five-vehicle accident that left one dead Monday were treated and released at local hospitals, according to Cape Girardeau police.

Michael Miller Roberts, 62, died in the accident at the intersection of William Street and Kingshighway. His Chrysler Sebring rear-ended a van, ricocheted into two other vehicles, and sent a wheel into a Chevrolet Blazer on Kingshighway.

Injured were Scott City residents Joellen Whitworth, 53, Cody Essner, 17, Cassie Essner, 15, and Allison Peters, 15; Pulaski, Ill., residents Edward Ballard, 64, and his parents, Minerva, 85, and Will, 88.

Whitworth, Cody Essner, Edward Ballard and Gerald Dunlap, 63, of Pilot Knob, Mo., were the drivers of the four other vehicles.

"It could have been a lot worse," traffic supervisor Sgt. Jack Wimp Wimp said of the accident that tied up traffic for more than an hour. "We're still investigating and getting everything together for our report."

Police are also awaiting autopsy results to show whether Roberts died before the accident or as a result of it.

Monday's accident was the first involving a fatality since the death of a 17-year-old thrown from her car in 2004, Wimp said.

With the approaching Memorial Day weekend, Wimp and Cpl. Kevin Eudy urged drivers to be more mindful of cars traveling in front of them and those in adjacent lanes when they are making turns into or out of businesses along high-traffic routes.

"If people would pay attention to the vehicle in front of them, accidents would decrease substantially," Wimp said.