A Fulton woman and her father are dead after a car accident on Highway 54 Wednesday night.
Fulton Police said the accident happened at 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday just north of Fulton, shortly after freezing rain began falling in Mid-Missouri.
Jan K. Dunavant, 54, of Fulton was pronounced dead at the scene. Her father, 80-year-old Ralph D. Dunavant, was taken to University Hospital in serious condition. He died Thursday night.
According to a news release from the Fulton Police Department, Ralph Dunavant was driving a 2006 Chevy truck, which slid off the roadway and down an embankment. While sliding, the truck overturned.
Jan K. Dunavant was a long-time employee of the Fulton Public School District. She began working for the Central District Office in 1993 and spent the last 10 years as administrative assistant to the superintendent.
The accident was one of nine Fulton police responded to during the ice storm on Wednesday.
The EOC in Callaway also received 60-70 calls about accidents Wednesday night, but since the Highway Patrol responds to county accidents, Callaway County deputies were only asked to help with seven. Many of them were for cars sliding off the road.
Four Callaway County residents were injured in two separate accidents in Boone County.
The Highway Patrol said Brent A. Reddick, 40, of New Bloomfield was driving on US 63 south of Mount Pleasant Road when he lost control on the ice-covered roadway. He ran off the road and struck a rock bluff.
Reddick had minor injuries in the accident. A passenger, Heather J. Cole, 41, of New Bloomfield, was also injured. Both were transported to Capital Region Medical Center. Neither were reportedly wearing seat belts.
Karrie Sandfort, 39, of New Bloomfield was traveling on Route Y east of Hagan's Road in Boone County when she lost control on the ice-covered roadway and overturned. She was taken to University Hospital with moderate injuries and was not wearing a seat belt. A passenger, Stephanie J. Sandfort, 25, of Fulton also was taken to University Hospital with moderate injuries. Authorities said she was wearing her seat belt when the accident occurred.
In yet another other weather-related incident, Interstate 70 in Callaway County was closed after two tractor-trailers ran off the slick road at approximately 7:30 p.m. at mile marker 152 near Kingdom City. The incident did not result in any injuries.
The highway had reopened early Thursday morning, but other parts of I-70 remained closed. Other roadways around St. Louis and Southeast Missouri were also closed after slick conditions caused numerous traffic accidents.
It was a busy evening and night for law enforcement statewide. Accident reports for icy conditions began around 10 a.m. around the state, which posts injury accidents on the Highway Patrol's Web site. Accident reports involving ice continued through Thursday morning.
Jefferson City police received 46 calls for accidents in the Jefferson City area - 21 of those warranted accident reports.
Thursday morning, three single-vehicle accidents happened at 715 Stoneridge Parkway.
Police responded to the location - the strip mall with Kohl's and Buffalo Wild Wings - around 11:30 a.m. The first accident involved a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country van. Gregory Rich, of Holts Summit, was driving the vehicle. He attempted to slow down going around a curve in the parking lot, but slid on the ice. Jefferson City police said the vehicle struck a guardrail. Rich and an occupant were both wearing seat belts and were uninjured.
A 2010 Chrysler Town and Country, driven by Liza Jungmeyer, of Jefferson City, also slid on ice in the same area and struck a guardrail. She and an occupant were also wearing seat belts and were uninjured.
Randy Steutermann, of Blue Springs, was driving a 2005 Cadillac and struck a curb after sliding on ice. According to police, the vehicle drove over the curb and went down a steep embankment where it stopped. No one was injured in that accident either.