Two from Pierce City killed in crash on I-44

Two people from Pierce City were killed in a wrong-way crash near Mount Vernon early Wednesday morning

The crash happened on Interstate 44 when a pickup truck traveling east in the westbound lanes hit a box truck head-on.

The driver of the pickup, 67-year-old David Galer, and his passenger, 46-year-old Joanne Merritt, died in the crash. The driver of the box truck was not injured.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the crash closed one westbound lane of I-44 for several hours on Wednesday.