Missouri State Highway Patrol releases report on I-44 wrong-way crash

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EUREKA, Mo. – Investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol have released their report on Sunday’s fatal wrong-way crash on Interstate 44.

According to the crash report, the crash took place just before 6 p.m., west of Highway 109.

The highway patrol said a 2013 Ford F-150 was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes. The 18-year-old driver of a 2017 Hyundai Sonata swerved to avoid the oncoming pickup truck and crashed into the concrete median divider. However, the driver of the F-150 swerved in that same direction and struck the Sonata before continuing on.

The F-150 went into the second lane of westbound traffic and collided with an oncoming 2018 Peterbilt 579 tractor-trailer. After the collision with the semi-truck, the F-150 traveled back into the first lane of traffic and hit a 2019 Lincoln Navigator, which had been traveling behind the Sonata.

The tractor-trailer went off the right side of the interstate, struck a guardrail, and overturned.

First responders from the MSHP, Eureka police and fire departments, as well as the St. Louis County Police Department, arrived at the crash scene within minutes.

The driver of the F-150, Lane L. Rakow of Eureka, was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m. He was 62. The pickup was totaled and, according to the report, it’s unclear if he was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The 47-year-old driver of the Peterbilt suffered only moderate injuries. He was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. He was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated. No other injuries were reported.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 44 were blocked for several hours for investigators to respond and the crash to be cleared from the roadway.

The crash report does not say why Rakow was traveling in the wrong direction.

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