A Winona resident was one of two people fatally injured in a crash that occurred at 5:30 p.m. Monday on Highway 32, 8 miles east of Salem in Dent County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Tpr. J.S. Leathers, penning the report with Major Crash Investigations Msgt. P.W. Meyers of Troop I of the patrol, Rolla, reported Austin M. Bramson, 21, was driving west in his 2008 Chevrolet Aveo and passing a 2021 International Conventional truck driven by Rodney L. Hammack, 62, Salem. Angela R. Petro, 34, of Boss, was driving her 2021 Nissan Versa in the oncoming lane and served to avoid a crash, losing control, Leathers reported. The Chevrolet and Nissan then collided head-on, with Bramson’s vehicle then striking the International, the report shows.
Bramson’s city of residence is listed in the report as Salem, but a death notice that appears on Page A7 of today’s Gazette, provided by Yarber Mortuary in Winona, shows him to be a Winona resident.
Dent County Coroner Gina White pronounced Bramson and Petro dead at 6:29 p.m. at the scene. Serious injuries were reported for a passenger in Petro’s vehicle, Dennis L. Metro, 41, also of Boss. He was flown by Air Evac helicopter to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, the report shows. All three wore seat belts, as did Hammack, for whom no injuries were reported.
The deaths mark the fourth and fifth fatalities this month in the six-county Troop I area, and the 30th and 31st this year, compared to 24 in the same time frame in 2023.
Leathers and Meyers were assisted at the scene by Mgst. J.L. Keathley, the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, the Dent County Fire Department and the Missouri Department of Transportation.