Man Killed in Missouri Truck Accident

Springfield, MOA Springfield man died recently in a Missouri truck accident on Interstate 44 when his vehicle collided head-on with a Freightliner, the Springfield News Leader reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Joseph W. Russell, 31, was reportedly the first traffic fatality in the Missouri Highway Patrol's Troop D area in 2011, according to the news provider.

According to the Highway Patrol, Russell was driving east in the westbound lane of I-44 about one half mile west of Springfield just before 7:00 am when his Ford Edge vehicle collided with the Freightliner.

Both of the vehicles reportedly then went into the median and caught fire, according to the highway patrol. Russell was pronounced dead at 6:57 am.

Douglas Carmack, 31, the truck driver, was uninjured in the crash and no tickets have been issued. According to the highway patrol's report, both of the drivers were wearing their seat belts at the time of the accident.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2009 there were 878 traffic fatalities in the state of Missouri.