Driver charged with manslaughter in crash that killed 2

Two Farmington, Missouri, residents were killed in a collision with a pickup truck Sunday near Patton, Missouri, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. The driver of the pickup truck has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The highway patrol arrested Paul E. Patton, 49, of Patton on Sunday. The Bollinger County prosecuting attorney’s office issued an arrest warrant for Patton on Monday. Patton was charged with two class B felonies. If convicted, he could face five years in prison on each charge.

Patton’s bond was set at $75,000, cash only.

A 2004 Dodge Ram driven by Patton, 49, crossed the centerline of Highway 72 about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, striking a 2015 Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager motorcycle driven by Richard J. Augustine, 58, of Farmington, according to the report. Augustine and passenger Debra S. Smith, 60, of Farmington were flung from the motorcycle, according to the report.

Bollinger County deputy coroner Jim Bollinger pronounced Augustine and Smith dead at the scene at 4:50 p.m. Sunday, according to the report.

A Bollinger County sheriff’s department deputy told highway-patrol trooper Marc Ashby that Augustine and Smith were dead at 3:35 p.m. when he arrived at the scene, according to a probable-cause statement.

Patton said he was driving east on Highway 72 when his dog jumped into his lap, forcing him to swerve into the westbound lane, Ashby wrote.

Patton’s eyes were glassy, his pupils were constricted, and his speech was slow and lethargic, according to the statement. He said he had taken 3 1/2 Percocet pills because he recently had back surgery, Ashby wrote. A breath test showed a presence of alcohol, according to the statement.

Patton refused to take a field sobriety test and admitted he consumed mixed drinks and a beer earlier that day, with his last drink about 2:30 p.m., Ashby wrote. Patton submitted to a blood sample, taken at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau about 4:30 p.m.

Patton did not have any listed injuries from the collision, according to the crash report.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

Highway 72, Patton, Missouri