Winter weather blamed for crashes in Kansas, Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Winter weather is being blamed for crashes in Kansas and Missouri, including two fatal crashes in Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Michael Dickison, 46, of Bolivar died Monday afternoon when he lost control of his pickup truck on the icy pavement of Highway 13 in southwestern Missouri, causing the truck to overturn before it was hit by another truck. South of St. Louis, Jimi Williams, 19, of Festus died after his car skidded and was struck by another car.

That news was reported as Kansas and Missouri residents woke up Tuesday to bitter winter temperatures in the single digits, with wind chills in portions of northeast Kansas and northern parts of Missouri dropping to as low as 20 below zero.

The National Weather Service issued a wind chill advisory Tuesday for those areas, noting the deep freeze could cause frostbite on exposed skin within minutes. The brutal cold contributed to the havoc on roads in Kansas City, St. Louis and elsewhere, as chemical treatments used to melt snow and ice on roadways are proving ineffective in such cold conditions.

Hundreds of schools in the region shut down for the day due to the slipper conditions and bitter cold.