One person dead after head-on crash on Route B

UPDATE 12/5: Troopers confirm that Thomas Willems, 34, was the man that was killed in the crash.

Isaiah Black, 20, the driver of the red truck had moderate injuries.

ORIGINAL STORY: Both lanes of Route B near Academy Road are back open Monday morning after traffic was redirected because of a fatal crash.

Boone County firefighters said a red truck was driving north on Route B when it crossed into the southbound lane, crashing head-on into a white car just before 6 a.m.

The driver of the white car was pronounced dead at the scene, firefighters said. They said the driver of the red truck had to be extricated and taken to University Hospital with serious injuries.

Firefighters said the driver who died was wearing a seat belt, but the crash was so severe the driver didn’t make it.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has taken over the crash investigation, and a trooper said it could be at least a month until all the evidence is collected and investigated before the circumstances leading up to the crash are available.