2 FL Men Killed, 1 Injured In Multiple Wintry MO Crashes

FLORIDA — Two Florida men were killed, while a third man was injured, in three wintertime crashes Monday in Missouri, per crash reports released by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The first crash happened around 1:45 a.m. on Interstate 70 westbound, per a report. Local News 10 reported the area is Kingdom City in Callaway County.

A report states Jonas Baptiste, 40, of Fort Lauderdale, had gotten out of his car and was hit by a 2023 Freightliner. The tractor-trailer then went to the right side of the roadway, where it came to a rest.

ABC 17 reported Tuesday that Baptiste was involved in a prior crash before leaving his vehicle.

Baptiste was pronounced dead by a funeral director, per the report.

Less than two hours after Baptiste's crash, the driver of a 2016 Freightliner lost control of the tractor-trailer on the ice-covered road and hit a truck for the Missouri Department of Transportation around 3:15 a.m. on U.S. 36 near Bucklin, per a second report.

The driver of the DOT truck then lost control, hitting 51-year-old Hialeah resident Alexander Rodriguez Gonzalez and the trailer of Gonzalez's 2024 Freightliner, per the report.

The Linn County coroner pronounced Gonzalez dead at a funeral home, per the report.

Then, about four hours later, a 44-year-old Lakeland man was moderately injured after losing control of his 2019 Freightliner Cascadia on the ice-covered road on I-55, per a third report.

The man was taken to Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital. His injuries were not fully detailed.