JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - A 19-year-old Joplin man and his 16-year-old female passenger from Galena, Kan., are dead after a one-car crash three miles west of Joplin.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports Jon West was driving on Junge Boulevard at 6:45 p.m. Saturday when his 1992 Lexus left the road and struck a tree. West was ejected from the car, while his passenger, Journey Pate-Nourani was killed in the vehicle, which had caught fire.
The patrol says West was not wearing a seatbelt, while it was unclear whether his passenger was buckled up.
The deaths were the 71st and 72nd traffic fatalities in Troop D's district this year.