Woman Survives Wreck with Semi

Firefighters extricated a Warrenton woman from her mangled vehicle after  her car slammed into the median cable on Interstate 70 Monday evening.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Jane Gerard, 50, was traveling eastbound on I-70 in her 2012 Ford Fusion when her vehicle struck the rear of a tractor-trailer driven by Bryan K. Dudek, 36, of Blackburn.

Gerard lost control of her vehicle, crossed the centerline, then crossed back into the eastbound lanes striking the tractor-trailer a second time. Her car then crossed the centerline again, went off the left side of the roadway and hit the median cable.

Warrenton Fire Protection District Chief Mike Owenby said the force of the collision ripped off most of the passenger side of the vehicle, but firefighters still had to peel back twisted metal with the jaws of life to free Gerard.

Warren County Ambulance District Administrator Ralph Hellebusch said Gerard was alert and appeared basically unharmed, but was airlifted to Mercy Hospital St. Louis as a precautionary measure. The police report listed her injuries as minor.

Dudek was uninjured and was able to drive his truck from the scene.

Both drivers were wearing seat belts.

The accident, which occurred around 6:45 p.m., closed the interstate for approximately one hour, Owenby said.