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Two separate Saint Robert wrecks injure four Friday morning, evening
SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Nov. 7, 2009 UPDATED 11:30 a.m., Nov. 24) — Two separate crashes in or near St. Robert on Friday wrecked four vehicles, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol and St. Robert police reports. The day’s first wreck happened at 9:14 a.m. near the salvage yard of Poor Boy’s Towing on Superior Road just west of the St. Robert city limits when a black 1993 Ford Bronco pickup truck driven by David T. Ballantyne, 20, of Waynesville, ran off the gravel road and landed on its top, with gasoline rushing out of the fuel tank. Ballantyne suffered only minor injuries, but a three-car pileup Friday night on Highway Y north of the Interstate 44 overpass sent one person to an area hospital with serious injuries and caused undetermined injuries to others. According to Sgt. Butch Hohman of the St. Robert Police Department, the crash happened at 7:20 p.m. when Tito O. Maher, 17, of Fort Leonard Wood, was driving about 250 feet north of the overpass, diverted his attention from the roadway to adjust his stereo, failed to see several vehicles stopped at the traffic light, and struck the back of a 2008 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Theresa L. Perret, 47, of Waynesville, causing Perret’s pickup to strike a third vehicle, a 2009 Toyota Prius driven by Kelly C. Sipe, 40, of St. Robert. Two of Maher’s passengers, Cory Lange, 19, and Shelly Lange, 16, both of Fort Leonard Wood, were transported to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital. According to the reporting officer, Jennifer Hicks, Maher showed no indications of injury but was also transported due to his age; ambulance personnel said he reported neck and back pain. Perret was transported to St. John’s Hospital in Lebanon with what St. Robert police reported as undetermined injuries, later clarified as moderate by ambulance personnel. Cory Lange’s injuries resulted in Fort Leonard Wood medical personnel sending him to University Hospital in Columbia, where he remained in serious but stable condition. Shelly Lange's injuries were reported by ambulance personnel as moderate to serious. Sipe, who is active duty military, was transported to General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital with moderate to serious injuries, according to ambulance personnel. Click here to read more on Pulaski County Daily News ...

By Darrell Todd Maurina