01/09/17   Snow Covered Roads Blamed For Two Deaths Friday

State Police investigated two fatal crashes in the state on Friday morning, both on snow covered roads. 49 year old Daniel Wayne Blair of Benton died of his injuries when his 1999 Ford, heading west on I-30 struck a patch of ice and slid into the north concrete barrier, overturning, landing on its wheels in the middle of I-30 west.

The accident happened at mile marker 121. Blair was taken to Saline Memorial Hospital where he died. Weather conditions were cloudy, road conditions ice and snow covered at the time of the crash at 8:20 am Friday morning. Corporal Jeffrey Plouch of the State Police investigated.

The second fatality occurred at 8:10am, in Van Buren County on U.S. 65 at Bee Branch.  State Police report, 40 year old Amanda Sue McKinnon of Damascus was headed north on U.S. 65 and lost control of the vehicle and slid to a stop across the southbound lane of 65 and into the path of a southbound 2015 Freightliner truck.

The truck driver was unable to avoid a collision and struck McKinnon's 2006 Dodge on the right side. A passenger in McKinnon's car,  an unidentified male, a minor was killed.

Another passenger, 19 year old Christopher Austin Ward of Damascus was injured. McKinnon and Ward were taken to Ozark Health Medical Center for treatment. It was snowing and the road snow covered at the time of the crash at 8:10am Friday morning. Corporal Donald K. Stringer of the State Police investigated the crash.