Two Jefferson County women injured in crash near Valles Mines | Accidents

Three women, including two from Jefferson County, were injured this morning, June 9, in a three-vehicle crash at Highway 67 and Berry Road south of Valles Mines in St. Francois County, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.

At 10:05 a.m., Tina M. Kester, 51, of Valles Mines was driving a 2010 Dodge Caravan minivan westbound and allegedly disregarded traffic traveling south on Highway 67. Then Tayler J. Abel, 31, of De Soto, driving a 2014 Cadillac SRX SUV, braked to avoid a collision with the minivan, but the vehicle began to slide and the front of the SUV struck the right side of the minivan, according to the report.

After the collision, the minivan began to spin and went off the right side of the highway, striking the front of a southbound 2014 Ram 4500 pickup truck driven by Roger L. Walka, 45, of Festus, with its left side, according to the report.

No injuries were reported for Walka. However, Kester and Abel suffered moderate injuries, and a passenger in the SUV – Terrilyn L. Martin, 19, of Kutztown, Pennsylvania – suffered moderate injuries. All three were taken by ambulance to area hospitals.

Kester was taken to Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City, and Abel and Martin were taken to Parkland Health Center in Bonne Terre, the report said.

All those involved in the accident were wearing seat belts, the patrol reported.

The minivan and SUV were totaled, and the pickup truck suffered moderate damage, the report said.