Wrong-way driver on I-44 died after crash with 3 vehicles

FENTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in suburban St. Louis say a man who was driving the wrong way on Interstate 44 died after hitting a semitrailer, a concrete barrier and two other vehicles. Police say the crash happened Monday night near Fenton when 75-year-old Michael Branlett, of Gray Summit, drove east in the westbound lanes of I-44. Investigators say Branlett encountered a semitrailer on the interstate just before 10 p.m. The semi swerved to avoid Branlett, but Branlett’s SUV hit the front left corner of the tractor-trailer. The SUV then slammed into a concrete median, went back onto the highway and hit two other vehicles. Branlett died at the scene. Two people in a car that was hit were treated at a hospital for minor injuries.