One Child Dead in Washington County Crash

(CALEDONIA) A child from Richwoods is dead and four others from that town are seriously injured after a one car crash Monday morning in Washington County. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash happened on Highway 21, just north of Furnace Creek Road between Caledonia and Potosi when a Nissan Murano driven by 36-year-old Zachary Wideman failed to make a left hand curve as he was traveling southbound. The car ran off the right side of the road and struck a tree. A 10-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene by Washington County Coroner Steve Hatfield. Wideman was seriously injured. He was taken to St. Louis University Hospital.

Also, three boys 6, 7 and 8-years-old received serious injuries in the crash. All three boys were flown to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. According to a Facebook post by Valley R-6 Superintendent Jason Samples, the girl who lost her life is 5th grader Amelia Biri. The post goes on to say the girls’ brother Jerry Portell, a 2nd grader at Valley, was one of the three boys with serious injuries. All activities at the Caledonia school were cancelled Monday . Counseling services were provided to anyone in the school district Monday and those services will be available for the rest of the week at the school.