The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published April 13, 2022

Two-vehicle head-on accident kills Eldon man

LAKE OF THE OZARKS – An Eldon man is dead after being hit by an oncoming vehicle.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) on Tuesday April 5 at 10:15 a.m., a 2010 Pontiac G6, driven by Chester McComb, 65, of Olean, MO, was traveling west on Highway 52 west of Meadowbrook Road in Miller County when the vehicle crossed the centerline and hit an oncoming 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, driven by Steven Thompson, 57, of Eldon, MO.

Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene by MU Air flight nurse Elizabeth Messer at 11:27 a.m. The MSHP said he was not wearing a seat belt.

McComb suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, MO. He also was not wearing a seat belt, the MSHP reported. Both vehicles were totaled in the crash.

This is Troop F’s first fatality for April and 23 for the year.

In other accidents last week:

A two-vehicle accident on Sunday, April 3 left a woman with serious injuries.

At 10:25 a.m. on Highway 17 north of Bonnie Drive, a 2007 Ford Fusion, driven by Erma Pankey, 70, of Iberia, MO was stopped waiting to make a left turn when it was hit in the rear by a 2017 Ford F250, being driven by Raymond Stegeman, 59, of Vienna, MO.

Pankey received serious injuries and was taken to Lake Regional Hospital. She was wearing a seat belt but the MSHP said Stegeman was not.

The Fusion had extensive damage and the F250 had moderate damage.

(Editor’s note: looking at the above photo supplied by the Iberia Rural Fire Protection District, the Ford Fusion is definitely totaled.)

A single-vehicle accident the next day at 5:00 p.m. left a Lebanon woman with minor injuries.

The MSHP reported that a 2003 GMC Sierra, driven by Jennifer Wilson, 41, of Lebanon, MO, was southbound on Marshall Road at Keepsake Road in Camden County when the vehicle lost control, ran off the left side of the road and overturned.

Wilson suffered minor injuries and was taken by private vehicle for medical treatment. The MSHP said it was unknown if she was wearing a seat belt. The vehicle was totaled in the crash.

At 6:30 p.m. that same day a golf cart accident in Camden County sent four people to the hospital.

An unknown year Yamaha golf cart, driven by Kimya Bowden, 63, of Lake Ozark, MO, was traveling west on Carroll Road 5 miles north of Lake Ozark when the vehicle began to skid and overturned ejecting all four occupants.

The vehicle then collided with the road, crossed the centerline and went off the left side of the road.

Lyneta Goens, 69, of Lake Ozark, MO and Audrey Hancock, 72, also of Lake Ozark, MO, suffered serious injuries and were taken by ambulance to Lake Regional Hospital.

Marla Allman, 67 and Retha McCaleb, 71, both of Lake Ozark, MO, received moderate injuries and were also taken by ambulance to Lake Regional Hospital.

Neither the driver nor any of the occupants were wearing a safety device. The golf cart had minor damage.

At 7:26 p.m. that evening on Red Hollow Road approximately 950 feet east of Twin Bays Road in Morgan County, a go cart, driven by a 14-year-old female from Gravois Mills, MO, was turning left when the brakes failed sending the cart off the left side of the road where it hit a tree.

The driver had minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Lake Regional Hospital. A 15-year-old female passenger in the cart also suffered minor injuries but refused treatment at the scene. Both were wearing safety devices. The car had minor damage.

Last Tuesday (April 5) another single-vehicle accident sent a man to the hospital.

The MSHP reported that a 2007 Ford E250, driven by Charles Myrick, 42, of Gravois Mills, MO, was westbound on Route P east of Harbor Road in Morgan County at 9:11 a.m. when the vehicle went off the right side of the road, hit a retaining wall and overturned.

Myrick suffered moderate injuries and was taken by ambulance to Lake Regional Hospital. He was wearing a seat belt. The vehicle was totaled in the accident.

At 2:43 p.m. that same day in Camden County, a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by Larry Gray, 75, of Climax Springs, MO, was traveling south on Highway 7 south of Sassafras Ridge Drive when the Jeep went off the right side of the road and hit two trees.

Gray suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach. He was wearing a seat belt. The Jeep was totaled.