Tractor-trailer rollover crash

Willis G. Hawkins, 57, of Caraway, Arkansas, was taken by a private vehicle to Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home, Arkansas, after sustaining moderate injuries when the tractor trailer he was driving overturned on J Highway around 3:50 p.m. Thursday, May 24. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, Willis was traveling northbound on J Highway about 15 miles southeast of Gainesville when the 2000 Freightliner he was driving ran off the right side of the roadway, overcorrected and then ran off the left side of the roadway, overturning. Willis was wearing a seatbelt. The truck was a total loss. Emergency crews worked to clean up fuel that was spilled as a result of the accident. Lick Creek, Gainesville, Tecumseh and Caney Mountain VFDs, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department and the West Plains Hazmat team all responded to the crash. The accident was investigated by MSHP Cpl. N. J. Britt.