Six crashes here in five days result in one death, multiple injuries

By Sue Ann Jones, sueann@ozarkcountytimes

Six vehicle and ATV crashes occurred in Ozark County between Thursday, Sept. 3, and Monday, Sept. 7, causing multiple injuries and one death. 

Fatal accident Monday on Highway 5 south

Five people were transported by air and ground ambulances to hospitals in Springfield and Mountain Home, Arkansas, after a Monday afternoon head-on crash on Highway 5 south near County Road 514. One of the crash victims, Qindi You, a 27-year-old woman from Little Rock, Arkansas, later died at Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home. 

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol online crash report, the crash occurred at 5:10 p.m. Monday when a southbound 2012 Dodge Avenger driven by Mingyang Chi, a 30-year-old man from Auburn, Alabama, crossed the centerline and struck head-on a northbound 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche driven by Michael Howard, 55, of East Alton, Illinois.

You, a passenger in the Dodge, was pronounced dead at BRMC at 7:46 p.m. Monday. 

Shulan Chi, a 62-year-old woman from China, was also a passenger in the Dodge.

Jere Dresch, a 58-year-old woman from East Alton, was a passenger in the Chevrolet.  Howard and Chi were also taken to BRMC.  Chi and Dresch were taken to Cox South Medical Center in Springfield. All were listed in the report as having moderate injuries. All were wearing seat belts except Dresch. 

Both vehicles were totaled.

The crash was investigated by MSHP Cpl. D. J. Johnson, who was assisted at the scene by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputies along with first responders from Timber Knob, Pontiac/ Price Place and Gainesville volunteer fire departments. Missouri Department of Conservation Agent Jerry Kiger, who heard the call as he was driving near the area, also responded. Two Ozark County Ambulance units, one BRMC ambulance, two Air Evac air ambulances and one Mercy system air ambulance also responded.   

Accident damages classic car,  sends passenger to hospital

Earlier Monday, a Brighton woman, Cheryl Whiteley, 64, was transported by Ozark County Ambulance to BRMC in Mountain Home. Whiteley was an occupant in a 1970 Ford Gran Torino that was said to be part of a group of classic vehicles traveling together through Ozark County. 

According to the MSHP online crash report, the accident occurred at 10:40 a.m. on Highway 5 five miles north of Gainesville when Gainesville resident Donald Pippin, 69, heading northbound, “lost control while slowing for congested traffic” and crossed the centerline, striking the southbound Grand Torino driven by Terry Whiteley, 66, also of Brighton, a town between Springfield and Bolivar. The Gran Torino then ran off the roadway and into a ravine, according to the report. 

Cheryl Whiteley, who was wearing a seat belt, had  injuries listed on the report as moderate. Terry Whiteley, the driver of the Gran Torino, was not wearing a seat belt; he was not injured. Pippin, who was wearing a seat belt, was not injured. 

The Blazer was driven from the scene. The Gran Torino, with reportedly extensive damage, was towed from the scene. The crash report was filed by MSHP Trooper D. L. Nash. He was assisted by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Curtis Dobbs and Deputy Justin Urich.

UTV accident Saturday on T Highway

 At 7:09 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, Gainesville residents Michael Goins, 30, and Monica Henderson, 36, sustained serious injuries as the result of the crash of a 2008 Arctic Cat UTV on T Highway at Mammoth. According to the MSHP crash report, Goins was transported by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, and Henderson was taken by private vehicle to BRMC in Mountain Home. 

According to the MSHP arrest reports, Goins was cited for driving while intoxicated resulting in serous physical injury to another person and careless and imprudent driving in connection with the accident.
The accident occurred as the UTV traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck several small trees and overturned, the MSHP report said. The UTV, with extensive damage, was removed from the scene. Neither occupant of the vehicle was wearing a seat belt, the report said.

The accident was investigated by MSHP Sgt. L. S. Elliott assisted by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputies and Lick Creek Volunteer Fire Department first responders.

LCVFD Capt. James Walley, who helped ambulance personnel pull one of the victims from wreckage, told the Times Saturday night that Bobbie Shelby, an off-duty Gainesville Health Care Center staff member, also assisted first responders in rendering aid to one of the victims. 

June 30 crash victim sustains minor injuries in Thursday afternoon crash

At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Josh Randolph, 32, of Gainesville, was taken by ambulance to Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains after suffering minor injuries in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 160 at Hardenville. Randoph, who is still recovering from injuries he suffered in a June 30 crash with another driver now charged with driving while intoxicated, was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP crash report. 

The accident occurred when a 1996 Cadillac El Dorado  driven eastbound by Haley Gregory, 25, of Gainesville, “failed to yield and pulled into the path” of a westbound 1999 Ford Windstar driven by Heather Cannon, 32, of Wasola, according to the report. The Windstar struck the El Dorado in the side, the report says.

Neither driver is listed as being injured. Gregory, driving the Cadillac, was wearing a seat belt. Cannon, driving the Ford, was not. Randolph was a passenger in the Cadillac. Both vehicles sustained extensive damage, according to the report filed by MSHP Sgt. L. S. Elliott. 

Two other ATV crashes

Two other four-wheeler injury accidents are noted in this week’s sheriff’s report. No MSHP reports were filed in those two incidents, so no details are known beyond what is shown in the dispatch call log.

The first of the two calls came in at 11:19 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, and reported that a 57-year-old female had sustained facial lacerations in a four-wheeler accident. Ozark County Ambulance and Air Evac were dispatched. The call log shows that the ambulance arrived at Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains at 12:51 a.m. Sept. 6. The call log also shows Air Evac 12 in route at 11:29 p.m. with a 15-minute estimated time of arrival. Then the call log shows, “enroute to OMC at 0014 (12:14 a.m.) with 2 AirEvac members.”

A little more than 12 hours after that incident, another call came in at 11:52 a.m. Sunday reporting that a “20ish” female was bleeding and had been knocked out in a “wrecked side by side,” and an 18-year-old male had “unknown injuires.” Cloud 9 first responders, South Howell Ambulance and Air Evac responded. The female was transported by air to Springfield, according to the call log. The male victim was transported by private vehicle.  

Two other fatal crashes in area during holiday

Two other fatal crashes occurred in the extended area during the holiday weekend. At 7:33 p.m. Sunday, a 75-year-old Hollister woman, Donna Young, died as the result of injuries she suffered in a golf cart accident on Emerald Point Drive, 3 miles south of Hollister. 

The MSHP crash report says the accident occurred when Carol Rhodes, 58, of Des Moines, Iowa, lost control of the golf cart she was driving, causing it to overturn, ejecting Young, Rhodes and one other occupant, Sandra Harris, 68, of Grimes, Iowa. 

Rhodes and Harris both suffered serious injuries in the accident according to the report. 

All three occupants of the golf cart were transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, where Young was pronounced dead at 9:30 p.m.  

A little later on Sunday, a Mountain Grove man, Jeremy Denholm, 47, died in a single-vehicle crash at 8:05 p.m. on Highway 63 at Olden in Howell County. The accident occurred when Denholm’s northbound 1997 Ford Ranger crossed the median and both southbound lanes of the highway before striking an embankment. Denholm was pronounced dead at the scene by Howell County Coroner Tim Cherry.