TWO PERRYVILLE TEENS DIE IN CAR ACCIDENT

PERRYVILLE -- Two sophomores at Perryville High School died Monday afternoon after the car they were in crashed with a pickup truck just south of Perryville.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said Clinton Richard and Dustin Meyer, both 16 and of Perryville, died following the accident.

Richard was driving and Meyer was the only passenger in the car headed south on Route B about 0.9 miles north of Route K at 2:10 p.m. when Richard lost control of the car, the patrol said. It ran off the road, spun out of control, came back across the road, and the back of vehicle crashed into the front of the pickup driven by Alan Johnson, 31, of Sedgewickville.

Johnson said he went off the road to avoid them. He said he suffered a broken nose and was "banged up a little."

Johnson was treated and released at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.

"It certainly is a tragedy, and everyone here is upset," said Marvin Ruehling, principal of Perryville Senior High School. He said he called a faculty meeting for before school this morning and mobilized every available counselor and members of the ministerial alliance to help students deal with the tragedy.

Ruehling knew both boys. He said they were "good students."