Victim identified in fatal Moberly crash

UPDATE, 2:45 p.m.: Daniel Johnston, 29, died Friday morning when his truck hit a ditch, struck a utility pole and overturned, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Three other passengers in his truck escaped with minor injuries. Two were femalesages 14 and 19, and the other was an 18-year-old man.

While troopers still can’t say if alcohol was a factor in the crash, two of the passengers returned to the scene earlier Friday afternoon and talked to ABC17 News.

They said Johnston had been drinking and was going too fast on the road when he swerved into the wrong lane. The passengers said that after the car hit the pole and came to a stop, the 18-year-old pulled both of the females out of the car before it exploded.

They said they could not find Johnston, but troopers said he was found in the car. An autopsywill be performed and troopers said the investigation could take a week to several months.

Troopers said the three passengers were wearing seat belts but they could not confirm if Johnston was wearing his.

Ameren repaired four utility poles that were destroyed in the crash.

UPDATE: ABC17 talked with troopers at the scene who said the crash happened around 4:00 Friday morning.

Troopers said a Chevrolet was being driven south on Morley when the driver somehow lost control of the vehicle.

The car hit a support line that was connected to power poles on the other side of the road.

The support line dragged down three power poles. Ameren was called to the scene and power was shut off.

There were four passengers in the vehicle when the car flipped and caught fire. As the fire was spreading throughout the car, a passenger regained consciousness and pulled out two female passengers.

Troopers believe that the driver was the one who died and also believe that alcohol was involved, but they have not confirmed that.

The three passengers who made it out safely did not have severe injuries and were taken to local hospitals.

Ameren is still on scene trying to fix the electricity.

ORIGINAL: Police responded around 7:30 a.m. Friday to a crash at Morley Business 63 at Route A.

Officers said the crash shut down both lanes of the road to Renick.

They said drivers should expect the road to remain shut down for several hours.

Police could not say how many people died in the collision or what caused it.

ABC 17 News will keep working to find out those details and will update this story as we confirm more.