Three People Flown to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis after Head-on Collision on Highway 49

(Viburnum, Mo.) Three people, including a woman from Ellington, were flown to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis and two people, including a man from Potosi, were taken to Phelps Health Center in Rolla after being involved in a two-vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon in Iron County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the accident took place on Highway 49, one mile south of Viburnum, when a GMC Terrain driven by 35-year-old Elizabeth Wheeler lost control on a partially ice covered roadway, crossed the center line and struck a Jeep Compass driven by 50-year-old Erik Hancock of Pocatello, Idaho head on.

Wheeler and Hancock both sustained serious injuries in the crash.

Hancock’s passengers, 38-year-old Genevieve Castillo of Salt Lake County, Utah sustained serious injuries, 52-year-old Scott Moffatt of Corpus Cristi, Texas sustained moderate injuries, and 86-year-old Harold Ray of Potosi sustained moderate injuries.