Teen driver dies in Phelps County crash

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 16-year-old driver from Rolla died in a head-on crash Tuesday in Phelps County.

The teen was driving a crossover SUV on Highway 63 a mile north of Rolla when she crossed the center line, sideswiped another vehicle and hit a third vehicle head-on, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The teen driver was not wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.

The driver of one of the other vehicles -- Abigail Bowen, 27, of Rolla -- suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to a Rolla hospital. A passenger in Bowen's vehicle -- Leann Robertson, 46, of Rolla -- was flown to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries.

Bowen is a community health liaison who works with sheriff's offices in the area, according to posts on the Facebook pages of the Gasconade, Pulaski and Maries County sheriff's offices. Robertson is a Rolla police officer, according to the posts.

The crash was the first fatal crash this month in the patrol's Troop I region.