One Dead in Accident Near Centralia

A Clarence woman is dead, and a Madison woman was seriously injured following an accident on Highway 22 just west of Centralia Tuesday afternoon. The State Highway Patrol says around 4:10, 30-year-old Cassandra Simmerman died and 24-year-old Rachael Hultz was hurt when the tire of a truck ruptured, and Hultz and the truck’s driver, 53-year-old Monte Hayes of Moberly, failed to avoid a crash as Hayes tried to regain control. The truck hit Hultz’s car on the passenger side. Simmerman was pronounced dead at the scene. Hultz was taken to Columbia. Hayes was not injured. Pieces of the tire also hit another pickup, but that driver was uninjured.