2025 Independence Weekend Crash Summary-You May Need a Lawyer

By The Cagle Law Firm | July 8, 2025 | Car Accidents, Featured, News

The Missouri State Highway Patrol worked  246 crashes over the Fourth of July holiday and 115 injuries were reported.  According to the MSHP the holiday time window began at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 3 through Midnight on Sunday, July 6 , 2025.  There were eight fatalities  this holiday weekend.  MSHP reported 114 DWI’s. The number of crashes and fatalities was down compared to the same holiday weekend of 2024 with 1,366 traffic crashes, 560 injuries, 149 DWIs, and 14 fatalities.

Eight Roadway Fatalities

July 4, 2025- 1 Fatality

9:53 p.m. – St Francois County – Motorcycle Crash: a 62 year-old Bonne Terre man died in a single motorcycle crash on Friday, July 4 on westbound Missouri Route Y, west of Snowdell Road in St. Francois County.  The crash occurred when the man passed another vehicle while entering a curve at a high rate of speed. The motorcyclist failed to negotiate the turn, left the roadway and was ejected.  He was not wearing a helmet and was pronounced at the scene

July 5, 2025- Seven Fatalities

12:15 a.m.- Putnam County-Two people were killed when the Kia they were traveling in left the right side of the roadway, struck a tree and became engulfed in flames.  The driver, a 47 year-old man from Agency, MO was unrestrained and 17 year-old male of Lucerne, MO was restrained.

7:35 a.m.- St. Louis County– A 53 year-old St. Louis man was traveling northbound on Natural Bridge Road at Brown Road. He was driving an Equinox and ran off the right side of the roadway.  The front of the vehicle struck a street sign. The driver returned to the road and and slid across both lanes and off the left side of the roadway. The right side of the vehicle struck the ground and began to overturn. The right side of the vehicle struck the utility pole off the left side of the road. The vehicle came to rest on the right side of the roadway facing south. The driver was unrestrained and died at the hospital.

9:00 a.m.- Polk County. A  68 year-old Bolivar man was killed when his vehicle ran off the roadway and overturned. The driver was unrestrained and ejected.

5:25 p.m.- St Francois County; A 32 year-old  man from Pevely, Missouri was killed when the vehicle he was driving westbound on Cedar Falls Road travelled off the right side of the roadway and overturned.  The driver was restrained and pronounced at the hospital.

6 p.m. – Laclede County– A 27 year-old Joplin woman died after the northbound vehicle (Nissan Rogue) in which she was a passenger hydroplaned on Highway 5 at Lake Shore Drive. The vehicle rotated, crossed the centerline and was struck by a southbound vehicle (Ford F150). The woman was not wearing a seat belt.   Several others in the Nissan were injured:  the driver, a Vancouver, WA man was seriously injured and was wearing a seatbelt. Another female passenger from Vancouver, WA sustained serious injuries and was not wearing a seat belt. And a 23 year-old old Joplin man suffered minor injuries and was wearing a seatbelt.      The southbound vehicle, a Ford F150 had six occupants. The female driver, a 22 year-old Long Lane, MO woman suffered minor injuries and was wearing a seatbelt. A 23 year-old Niangua man was seriously injured and wearing a seatbelt. A 21 year-old Buffalo, MO woman was seriously injured and not wearing a seatbelt.  A 35 year-old Conway, Mo woman suffered minor injures and was wearing seatbelt. A 16 year-old Conway female was seriously injured and was wearing a seatbelt and an 8 year-old Conway boy suffered minor injuries and was wearing a seatbelt.

11:28 p.m. Harrison County– A 71 year old Santee, CA woman was killed as a pedestrian as she was walking in the eastbound lanes of US 136 west of I-35 in Bethany.  Reports say that the pedestrian walked into the path of the Lincoln SUV. The front driver’s side struck the pedestrian and pedestrian was pronounced at the hospital a couple of hours later.

Waterway Incidents in Missouri

Elk River– 11:35 a.m.–A 59 year-old New Jersey man suffered a minor injury when his canoe struck an object in the river and overturned. Victim became trapped under a log and then surfaced. He was pulled to the shore by bystanders.

Current River– 3:34 p.m.– A 10 year-old girl was involved in an incident where Legend Jet Boat drifted over her as a swimmer.

Mark Twain Lake– 4:42 p.m.–A 60 year-old Troy, Missouri woman was seriously injured when she was stepping from one boat to another and fell. She was transported via air to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis.

Lake of the Ozarks– 9:35 a.m.–A 34 year-old Warrensburg, MO man suffered minor injuries as a result of two Seadoo’s doing stunts too close to one another. His vessel began idling and another vessel struck his causing his ejection. The driver of the other vessel was not injured.

Injuries Over the Weekend

Festus: Jefferson County– On Thursday afternoon, an 84 year-old man was backing up his minivan and slammed into the fireworks tent in the Walmart parking lot in Festus. Five people were injured including Christopher Warncke from Jefferson County who was there buying fireworks for his children.  He indicated he may have been thrown 15 feet. He suffered a concussion and leg injury.

Saint Francois County- 7:30 p.m. Two St Louis visitors were injured in an ATV crash on July 4 evening at Lake Hannah off-road area known as “The Flats”.  According to the MSHP, a 45 year-old man was driving a 2022 Polaris RZR Pro XP and attempting to perform a “donut” maneuver when the ATV overturned. The crash caused both passengers, a 35 year-old woman and 17 year-old boy to be partially ejected from the vehicle.  Troopers say the ATV landed on the adult woman’s leg, causing serious injured. The juvenile passenger sustained a head injury and taken to a Farmington hospital. The driver was not injured.

There were 115 injuries which is a really big deal. While the Fourth of July Weekend is typically  the most dangerous on roadways, it is encouraging that crashes and deaths were less than in 2024. However, eight fatalities over four days is still to many.

How Does Law Enforcement Make Injury Classifications

According to the MSHP, there were at least 36 people classified with serious injuries across Missouri and about 30 moderate injuries.  How do you know what “serious” and “moderate” injuries mean according to the MSHP?  Law enforcement officers do not claim to be medical experts.  They know CPR and how to respond  temporary life-saving efforts; but mainly to coordinate emergency medical transportation and divert traffic. Troopers are often experts at crash description and some are qualified as accident reconstruction experts.  Their goal is not to be medical experts in diagnosing or treating. They have to make injury classification to call for emergency transport.  They make these decisions quickly and often someone’s survival rests on the officer’s ability to quickly act.  There are several considerations for troopers to classify a serious injuries–certainly, life-threatening injuries are classified as serious.  A serious injury is any injury other than fatal that involves one of more of the following:

• severe lacerations; wounds that expose underlying tissues, muscles, or organs or result in significant blood loss
• broken or distorted limbs; fractures or dislocations of arms or legs
• crush injuries; injuries resulting from compression or crushing forces
• suspected head, chest or abdominal injuries; excluding minor bruises or lacerations
• significant burns; second or third degree burns covering 10% or more of the body
• unconsciousness; if the person is unconscious when removed from the accident scene
• paralysis; loss of ability to move a body part

Moderate Injuries:

The MSHP focuses on fatalities and serious injuries. Again, troopers do not claim to have medical expertise and rely on observable injuries and reported by the victim.  However, moderate injuries involve physical conditions that include substantial pain.  And, sometimes, a classification of “minor” for an injury may not mean that the medical treatment needed to resolve that injury is “minor”. Often times, individuals in motor vehicle collisions may think they are not really hurt that badly.  When we are in a crash, we observe our body for bones sticking out and blood gushing.  Then, we try to assess our areas of pain.  Granted, a crash most generally sets your adrenaline pumping and you are in “survive” mode and may not accurately asses your injury.  Often, those in motor vehicle collisions tell us they thought they were okay until they woke up the next day……………then, they felt like they had been hit by a car. Not kidding

Assessing Injuries After a Motor Vehicle Crash

Pain is the way your body communicates that there is a problem.  If the initial officer or trooper assesses that you are okay, you can differ.  In reality, an officer will rarely tell you that you are fine if you tell them you are not.  “Are you okay?” and “Do you need an ambulance?” are usually the first two things they say to you when they arrive.  Law enforcement responds quickly so they can call emergency personnel sooner than later.  I cannot recall a scenario where I spoke with the victim of a crash where law enforcement did not offer to call an ambulance.

If You Have Pain,  Seek Medical Attention

Everyone is different.  If you feel fine at the scene and there are no obvious physical injuries, you need to monitor how you feel in the following days.  If you develop symptoms of pain in the following hours and days, you need to get medical help immediately.  I have not once spoken with someone who regretted getting medical help.  However, I have talked with many people who very much regretting failing to get medical help.  We all know the reasons that a person holds off on getting medical help.  It’s expensive and inconvenient.  However, if you are hurt, the philosophy of “I will just wait and hope for the best” is not a statistical winner.  Waiting hours or days to begin getting medical help can actually delay your full recovery.  Failure on your part to act which may lead to more months of pain or a decreased likelihood of healing is always a terrible position.

Call a Lawyer for the Steps to Take After a Crash

Often repeated, “The only dumb questions are the ones not asked”.  Over 20 years, our lawyers have been talking to folks after they are involved in a motor vehicle crash.  The first mistake commonly made is to fail to seek medical treatment if you are feeling pain after a car accident. The second common mistake people make is failing to ask questions of a lawyer Hint, your insurance adjuster is not the best group of people to answer your questions. Certainly, do not ask for medical advice from your auto insurance adjuster–they are not on your side. When you consult an expert car accident lawyer, they are uniquely interested in you and your physical recovery.  Our priority is not your auto or health insurance carrier, our only concern is You, period.  Thus, there is not subtle suggestions or reading-between-the-lines. It is just honest advice about how to proceed after a crash with injury.

At The Cagle Law Firm, we know that there are a 100 questions after a crash. It is the most uncertain time as you are not sure what is wrong with you, how long it will take for you to heal and how much is it going to cost?  These are the questions that keep people up at night worrying. Many people never think about what they might do after a car accident assuming they will never be in a crash.  We are in 3-5 motor vehicle incidents in our life.  Knowing what do to does help alleviate some of the stress of the incident happening.  We answer those questions daily.  We talk to you about your physical symptoms, facts of the crash, and advise you of what steps to take and what NOT TO DO.  Not everyone that calls us will actually need legal representation.  That is 100% okay.  We would rather answer your questions than hear about how an auto insurance company made your life hell for a few months.

Call us toll free 1.800.685.3302 or locally 314.276.1681

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