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4 killed, 7 seriously injured in southwestern Missouri crash

As the car crossed the center line, it hit five different motorcycles, ejecting the motorcycle drivers and passengers— a total of 10.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Sharp shards of car glass on the asphalt

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. — Four people died, and seven others were seriously hurt in a Saturday morning crash involving a car and five motorcycles in Lawrence County, Missouri.

Around 11:20 a.m., a 2016 Toyota Corolla crossed the center line of Missouri Highway 39, three miles north of Aurora city limits. 

The woman driving the car, Theresa Manetzke, 51, has been arrested but will be detained after medical treatment. She faces one charge of felony driving while intoxicated resulting in the death of two or more people and one charge of failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, an arrest report from the Missouri State Highway Police said.

As the Corolla crossed the center line, it hit five different motorcycles: Two Harley Davidsons and three Hondas, a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Police said.

All five motorcycles overturned in the crash, ejecting the drivers and passengers— a total of 10. One of the motorcycles caught fire.

Less than an hour after the crash, the Lawrence County Coroner confirmed the death of four of the victims: passenger Linda Anderson, 61; driver James Olmsted, 59; an unnamed 17-year-old girl riding with Olmsted; and driver Kameron Hale, 28.

One of the injured seven was a 16-year-old girl; the other six were adults. They were all flown to hospitals in Springfield.

All drivers and passengers involved were residents of Aurora, Missouri, the crash report said.

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