Semitrailer Driver Dies After Running Rig Off I-44

A semitrailer driver died at Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan on Thursday morning after driving the rig off of eastbound Interstate 44 east of Stanton.

The Missouri Highway Patrol confirmed to The Missourian on the scene that the driver had died. The trooper at the scene said he believes the driver suffered some sort of medical condition while operating the semi.

On Friday morning, the driver was identified as 61-year-old Arthur L. Glenn, of Bakersfield, Calif.

At about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, St. Clair Fire Protection District and Sullivan Ambulance personnel responded to eastbound I-44 at mile marker 232.4. Interim St. Clair Fire Chief Mike Kelley said when he arrived, Sullivan EMTs were performing CPR on the driver.

Glenn was transported by Sullivan Ambulance to Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan, where he died, the patrol stated.

The semitrailer was the only vehicle involved. It was driven off the right side of the highway and down the embankment. The rig did not overturn.

From information gathered at the scene, it appears Glenn maintained control over the semi for at least three-tenths of a mile while driving it along a fence line after the rig was driven off the interstate and down the embankment. The semi left the road before the 232.2 mile marker and stopped after the 232.4 marker.

Tire tracks and downed limbs and shrubs showed the path of the semi, and its front grill was filled with leaves, twigs and dirt. The rig actually came to rest with the front left tire of the cab back on the edge of the pavement.

Glenn was hauling grapes in a cooled trailer. Because of that, health department officials had to be called. The back doors of the semi remained closed at all times so no fruit was dumped during the incident.

The left lane of eastbound I-44 was closed until the semi could be cleared from the scene.