At 5:54 a.m. Saturday, Owensville police received a call that an eastbound 1999 Mercury driven by Joel J. Littrell, 16, Owensville, had run off the right side of Highway 28 and crossed over a large concrete drainage culvert. Littrell was treated at the scene for head injuries. His passenger, Anthony Gooch, 19, of Gerald, suffered head injuries and was transported by Owensville ambulance to St. John’s Mercy Hospital in Washington.

Littrell was wearing a seat belt but Gooch was not, according to the police report. The report noted Littrell’s car “traveled 92-feet, 3-inches through the rock and grass area” and crossed over the culvert before coming to a stop. Littrell told police he fell asleep while driving and noted they had stayed up all night long. He also believed Gooch was asleep at the time. Owensville firemen had to cut away the car’s passenger side door to free Gooch from the wreckage.
Gooch was treated and later discharged from the hospital.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports Bryan T. Harris, 24, of Owensville, suffered serious injuries in a 6:10 p.m. wreck on Thursday, four miles south of Glaser Hollow Road on Route EE. Traveling south, Harris was driving a 1989 Chevrolet “too fast to negotiate a curve,” noted the patrol’s report. His vehicle slid off the right side of the road, struck a rock bluff, became airborne, and landed on its top.

Harris was wearing a seat belt during the June 26 wreck, according to the patrol. He was flown by ARCH to the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia. Due to bad weather, the helicopter was actually diverted to St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, according to personnel with the Ozark Central Ambulance District.