Centralia woman hurt in crash that closed down part of Route B

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Centralia woman suffered serious injuries Monday morning in a crash that closed down part of Route B north of Columbia.

The crash shut down the highway for a couple of hours near its intersection with Route HH north of Columbia.

Tammy Alexander, 55, was hurt when an SUV driven by a 16-year-old Hallsville boy swerved onto the other side of the road to avoid a deer and hit her pickup truck, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. Alexander was taken by ambulance to University Hospital with serious injuries.

The Boone County Fire Protection District posted on Facebook that the woman identified by the patrol as Alexander had to be cut from the vehicle.

The Hallsville teen was taken to Boone Hospital by private ambulance with moderate injuries, the patrol says. Alexander was wearing a seat belt but the teen was not.

According to a tweet from Boone County Joint Communications at 3:42 a.m., officials closed Route B at Route HH because of the crash. Drivers were encouraged to find a different route.

Doug Westhoff, a deputy chief with the Boone County Fire Protection District, said at the scene that the crash happened around 3:30 a.m.

Westhoff described the crash as a head-on collision. Fire officials say extrication was required.