DDN – Three persons were killed in a sequence of crashes on U.S. 63 north of Columbia Thursday afternoon, according to a representative for the Boone County Fire Protection District.

A head-on collision on northbound US 63 at Pinnacles Rd. killed one driver. The driver of the second vehicle was sent to University Hospital where he later died.

According to Gale Blomenkamp, Assistant Chief of the BCFPD, the first incident occurred around 4:30 p.m., and the second crash occurred an hour later within the stopped traffic produced by the first crash near Breedlove Dr.

Blomenkamp said another person died in the second incident, and four people were brought to University Hospital with injuries.

Crews tried to save the victim, who was only described as female, but she died as a result of her injuries, according to Blomenkamp.

According to a BCFPD Facebook post, the second incident occurred when one car rear-ended another approximately one mile north of the initial crash.

For several hours, the crashes closed all southbound lanes of U.S. 63. Lanes slowly opened as crews cleared the site.

Reference: Three people killed in series of crashes on U.S. 63 north of Columbia