Two killed in early-morning accident on Highway 43

Two people were killed and two others seriously injured in a grinding head-on collision on Highway 43 about 6 miles south of Liberal just before dawn on Saturday morning.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident occurred around 4:35 a.m. when a northbound vehicle driven by 30-year-old Shelby K. Stinnett of Joplin crossed the centerline and struck a southbound car driven by a 17-year-old juvenile male from Oronogo.

Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene by Barton County Coroner Sarah Rutledge.

The two occupants of the car driven by the juvenile – a 16-year-old boy from Joplin and a 15-year-old boy from Carl Junction – were seriously injured.

The Joplin youth was transported to Mercy-Joplin. The Carl Junction unit was transported by air to Mercy-Springfield.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Barton County Sheriff’s Department, the Liberal Police Department, the Liberal Fire Department and the Barton County Ambulance District.