JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) counted nine deaths on its state’s road ways over the July 4 weekend travel period.
According to MSHP stats released on Monday, nine people died and 113 were injured in 235 traffic crashes during the holiday counting period, which began at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 2, 2026, and continued through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 5, 2026.
Those stats include 235 traffic crashes which resulted in 113 injuries and nine deaths. MSHP also counted 125 DWI arrests.
During the 2025 July 4 holiday counting period, the MSHP reported that it investigated 273 traffic crashes involving nine fatalities and 138 injuries. Statewide, 13 people died and 414 were injured in 993 vehicle crashes in 2025.
One such crash involved a 2020 Kenworth driven by a 44-year-old man who traveled off the left side of Interstate 44, just a mile southwest of Mount Vernon, Missouri, struck a guardrail, then a bridge structure, overturned, hit another guardrail, and caught fire.
The man was from Cooper City, Florida. MSHP stated that next of kin had been notified. The crash was Troop D’s 65th fatality on Missouri roads in 2026.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
