A 34-year-old Poplar Bluff woman is the 35th fatality in Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E this year.
She died in a three-vehicle accident Friday night on Business Highway 60 East near C street in Poplar Bluff, according to reports.
Dead is Zea H. Hawley. Seriously injured was Sherman L. Thomas, 82, of Broseley, who was air evacuated to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. An occupant in Thomas’s 2010 Ford F 150, Virginia F. Thomas, 79, of Broseley had moderate injuries and was taken to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. George L. Wright, 68, of Dudley, who was driving a 2016 Honda Pilot sustained minor injuries and transported to PBRMC.
According to the patrol report, Hawley was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier westbound when she crossed the center line and struck Wright’s vehicle and then the Thomas vehicle. They both were traveling east.
According to the report, Hawley was not wear a safety device, while the others were using their seat belts.
Poplar Bluff firefighters arrived at the scene at 7:30 p.m. and stayed two hours. The five-man crew removed one trapped victim from the vehicle and assisted emergency medical services personnel in preparing the patients to be transported. After the patrol accident reconstruction team finished its investigation, firefighters used 250 gallons of water to clear the scene.
Also at the scene just east of the Pine Boulevard bridge were the Poplar Bluff police, Butler County coroner, Butler County Sheriff’s Department, Butler County EMS and Air Evac.