MSHP: Inattention at the wheel may have contributed to fatal accident on I-70

COLUMBIA, Missouri (KMIZ)

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the cause of a fatal crash on Interstate 70 in July was inattentive driving.

The accident occurred at 9:24 a.m. on July 9 at the 117.6 mile marker on I-70 in Boone County between a passenger car and a semi-trailer truck.

According to a written accident report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a passenger in the crash said the driver, 22-year-old Joshua Hulse of Columbia, may have been looking down at the time of the accident.

The report states that Hulse was traveling eastbound in a 2014 Chevrolet Impala behind a 2024 Freightliner Cascadia semi-trailer driven by Derson Jeanlouis, 36, of Brandon, Florida.

Investigators said Jeanlouis slowed down because of another accident. Hulse allegedly did not slow down and struck the rear of the semi-truck.

According to police, several witnesses said Hulse tried to apply the brakes but still hit the truck before going off the right side of the road and hitting a railing. He then returned to the road and hit the trailer again, partially submerging the car.

The accident report states that the entire car was damaged.

Hulse was pronounced dead at the scene. The two passengers, Johnathan Wolfe, 21, of Sturgeon, and Austin Pitford, 23, of Ozark, were sitting on the right side of the car.

Wolfe and Pitford were taken to University Hospital for possible injuries.

The truck driver was uninjured. Investigators said the trailer was damaged but the load was not released.

According to police, the only likely circumstances contributing to the accident were that Hulse was driving too fast for the conditions and was distracted while driving.

According to the report, the road was wet due to recent rainfall when investigators arrived on scene.

According to the report, all those involved in the accident were wearing seat belts at the time of the collision.