Four people hurt in crash along U.S. 54

Near Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City

Updating, posted at 11:30 p.m. Friday:

Eastbound U.S. 54 was closed for about three hours Friday after a two-vehicle accident at the Missouri Boulevard interchange.

And westbound traffic was restricted to one lane during that period.

Jefferson City police said four people were injured and at least one was taken to a hospital for treatment, but no information about that treatment was available later Friday.

Police said all four people were using seatbelts and were identified as Casey Pointer, 18, Brendan Bush, 23, and Christian Bush, 17 - all of Jefferson City - and Michael Keen, 52, Phillipsburg.

Police said the accident happened at 10:40 a.m., as Pointer was driving a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero onto U.S. 54 eastbound from the Missouri Boulevard on-ramp and failed to yield to an eastbound tractor trailer already on the highway.

Police said Keen, operating a 2002 Peterbilt tractor, tried to change lanes to avoid a collision.

But the right-front of the tractor hit the Oldsmobile, knocking it into the guardrail.

The Bushes were passengers in Pointer's car.

Police said Keen's effort to shift to the left caused the Peterbilt tractor to hit the concrete median, then go over the top of the median as the tractor trailer unit skidded along the concrete barrier.

When it stopped, the tractor was in the passing lane of the westbound lanes, and its trailer - hauling a load of logs - had overturned in the eastbound lanes.

Some of the logs spilled onto the highway.

During the three-hour cleanup, police closed the eastbound lanes at the Madison Street exit by Capital Region Medical Center, detouring the traffic north on Madison, then west on U.S. 50-63 to reconnect with U.S. 54 at the tri-level interchange.

Early reports incorrectly said it was a three-vehicle accident.

Police said late Friday their investigation was continuing.

Update, posted at 1:40 p.m.:

Authorities have cleared vehicles from the crash site and reopened the highway.

Earlier coverage:

At least one person was taken to a hospital late Friday morning, following a three-vehicle accident on U.S. 54 near Missouri Boulevard.

Jefferson City Police closed both eastbound lanes, detouring those motorists onto the Madison Street exit by Capital Region Medical Center.

Westbound traffic on U.S. 54 was one-lane only.

Officers said a tractor-trailer rig hauling logs overturned, spilling some of the logs onto the highway.

The tractor unit traveled down the concrete median for a short distance before going over the median and stopping in the westbound passing lane.

The highway was expected to be closed for several hours, while the vehicles were removed and the logs transferred to a new trailer.

The cause of the accident remained under investigation.