TWO AREA MEN INJURED IN ACCIDENT ON HIGHWAY 34

JACKSON -- A head-on collision seriously injured two men early Monday, the Missouri Highway Patrol said.

Two helicopters from Southeast Missouri Hospital responded to the accident about two miles outside Jackson on Highway 34.

The men, 26-year-old Michael Borgfield of Patton and 58-year-old Larry Aufdenberg of Burfordville, were transported in separate helicopters, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.

If patients are not critically injured, a helicopter can usually transport two individuals, the spokeswoman said. But when a fatality or long extrication from a vehicle is involved, only one patient is transported in each helicopter.

Borgfield had been pinned in his car when the dash and floorboard buckled, said Brad Golden, Jackson fire chief. It took about a half hour for firefighters to remove Borgfield from his car, Golden said. Borgfield was reported in stable condition Monday night.

Along with Jackson firefighters, personnel from Millersville and Cape Girardeau fire departments responded to the wreck.

The accident occurred at 7:22 a.m. when Borgfield's westbound car crossed the center line and struck a van driven by Aufdenberg, authorities said. Aufdenberg was ejected from the van on impact. His condition had improved to good late Monday, the hospital reported.

Cape Girardeau firefighters performed the extrication, as they have been contracted to do throughout the county, Fire Chief Dan White said.

Extrications within the city limits have been handled by Cape Girardeau firefighters since the mid 1970s and later across the county when former presiding commissioner, the late Gene Huckstep, quit the work in 1986, White said.

Huckstep, who operated a body shop, provided the only extrication service for a large part of Southeast Missouri for years, the fire chief said.

Now most counties surrounding Cape Girardeau County have firefighters equipped for extrications.

Cape Girardeau's current rescue and extrication truck was purchased in 1994 for $182,000, White said. This was paid in part by the county, Cape Girardeau and Jackson, he said.