Cole County driver chokes on coffee, causes vehicle to go airborne

A single-vehicle crash that sent four people to the hospital sent a vehicle to go airborne near the ramp to MO 94 on US 54.

When the Jefferson City Police and the Jefferson City Fire Department got to the scene of the crash, they found a black Dodge Durango off the right side of the ramp to MO 94 at the bottom of an embankment, sitting on its roof.

Witnesses said that the Durango was going westbound on US 54. The driver, Shawn Shipp, 42 of Holts Summit, began choking after taking a drink of coffee and loss of control of the vehicle. The Dodge Durango went into the median separating the eastbound and westbound lanes of US 54, and then into the grass area separating the ramp to MO 94 from US 54 eastbound.

The Durango struck the went airborne over the ramp to MO 94 after hitting a dirt embankment. The Durango landed on the guardrail on the eastern side of the ramp and then rolled over as it came down the embankment.

A 15-year-old and a 13-year-old were both taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Shipp and a 36-year-old passenger were taken to the hospital for moderate injuries.