JEFFERSON CITY — A 46-year-old Jefferson, Indiana man suffered serious injuries in a traffic crash on I-55 in Ste. Genevieve County Thursday afternoon.
A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who investigated the crash reported Suren E. Bold was the driver of a northbound 2023 Freightliner Cascadia. He was taken to Mercy Hospital St. Louis by an Air Evac helicopter.
Trooper K. L. Goforth reported the crash happened when the northbound semi blew a front left tire, which caused the tractor unit to collide with the right rear of a northbound 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by 69-year-old Richard R. Ruskey of St. Louis. Ruskey was uninjured.
Trooper Goforth says the semi then traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck the median cable barrier. He said the semi then crossed the southbound lanes of I-55 and the front of the semi struck a rock bluff. Trooper Goforth was assisted in his investigation by Msgt. W. B. Sevier and Cpl. C. A. Groves.
The Freightliner had extensive damage and was towed from the scene by Ives Towing.
The Tahoe was driven from the scene.
Trooper Goforth said Ruskey was buckled up, but it could not be determined if Bold was restrained.
The report says the crash happened about 2:46 p.m. at the 154 mile marker.