Man who crashed tractor-trailer on I-70 in Cooper County in critical condition

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The driver of a tractor-trailer that crashed on Interstate 70 in Cooper County on Wednesday evening is in critical condition.

An MU Health Care spokesperson confirmed Christopher Wanager’s condition in an email on Friday. Wanager had to be pulled from a 2005 Freightliner Columbia after crashing it at mile marker 112, Lt. William Johnson of the Cooper County Fire Protection District said on Wednesday.

Wanager, 62, of Odessa, was heading westbound on Interstate 70 when his vehicle went off the left side of the road and hit a median cable, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

The Freightliner then went into the eastbound passing lane before coming back to the median and hitting a cable barrier, the report says. The truck then overturned on its side.

The crash impacted traffic for about three hours. The passing lanes in both directions of Interstate 70 were closed as crews worked the scene.