COLUMBIA - Three Callaway County residents died in car crashes over the course of two days.
One Holts Summit resident was killed Thursday morning, while two Auxvasse residents died in a six-vehicle crash Wednesday, the Missouri Highway Patrol confirmed.
Jason Mayer, 40, was involved in a two-car crash on Missouri 94, near Route C, at about 6:50 a.m. Thursday. The occupants of the other vehicle received minor injuries, according to the crash report.
Mayer's 2014 Chevrolet Malibu slid on the snow-covered road while driving east, crossing the center-line. Tabitha Bell, 31, of Portland, was driving west. Her 2014 Ford Explorer struck the right side of the Malibu, the crash report stated.
Mayer was pronounced dead at the scene. Bell and her passenger, Ruger Bell, 3, also of Portland, were taken to SSM Health. All involved were wearing seat belts, the report added.
Sgt. Scott White, MSHP Troop F spokesperson, urged locals to drive with care as winter weather reaches Missouri.
"The biggest tip we give people is just slow down," he said.
He also encouraged people to check the weather and news to learn road conditions before leaving home.
Interstate crashes
On Wednesday, Cindy Spradlin, 63, and her passenger Vicky Moore, 60, were among the four who died in the pileup on Interstate 70 east of Columbia, near Route Z. Otto Kramer III - a 63-year-old from Pickerington, Ohio - and Jennifer L. Temple, 44 of Columbia, were the other two victims.
The victims' next of kin have been notified, HIghway Patrol stated in a crash report.
The accident took place at about noon Wednesday, near mile marker 133 on westbound I-70.
Spradlin's 2003 Buick LeSabre and Temple's 2005 Ford Taurus were stopped in traffic.
"There was a car hauler at the St. Charles exit that caught fire," White said. "There was a chain of events there."
The vehicles were struck from behind by Kramer's 2019 Freightliner. The impact forced Spradlin's car into a stationary 2016 Freightliner driven by Leroy Cox, Jr., 68, of Mobile, Alabama. It also sent Temple's vehicle into a 2007 Freightliner driven by David Whitehead, 30, of South Haven, Mississippi. Spradlin's Freightliner then struck a 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Edmond Squires, 42, of Hazelwood.
Moore and Temple were pronounced deceased at the scene by a Boone County medical examiner. Spradlin and Kramer were rushed by ambulance to University Hospital in Columbia. Kramer was pronounced deceased at 12:59 p.m. and Spradlin at 2:09 p.m.
All victims were wearing seat belts. The report listed no other injuries.
The investigation continues. The deaths bring Troop F's traffic fatality total to six for November and 68 for all of 2018. Callaway County alone has seen seven traffic deaths so far this year, White said.
"We've seen a 46-percent increase in traffic fatalities since this time last year," he said. "We can enforce the law and write tickets and educate people, but when it comes down to it, driving is a personal responsibility."