PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. — A truck driver is dead after a chain-reaction crash involving a truck and four semi-trailers near Waynesville early Tuesday morning.
The crash happened at 12:40 a.m. on westbound Interstate 44 near mile marker 158, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
A semi was avoiding another vehicle and ran into the back of a second semi. A third semi, driven by 54-year-old Jimmie Stackpole of Sparta, then jackknifed into the road and ran into the trailer of the second semi. A fourth semi then struck Stackpole's semi and veered into the median.
A 2012 Ford F-150 then struck Stackpole's trailer and veered into the median.
The Doolittle Fire Protection District told drivers to avoid the area Tuesday morning. Multiple fire departments were on the scene and an extrication was underway, the district said.
Stackpole was rushed to Mercy Hospital in Lebanon, where he was pronounced dead at 3:06 a.m.
All five drivers involved in the accident were wearing seatbelts. Highway patrol did not report any other injuries in the crash.
The crash closed the highway for much of the morning. As of 11:30 a.m., the Missouri Department of Transportation said delays should still be expected.
