Mo. highway deaths drop to lowest mark since 1950

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Highway Patrol says 2009 saw the lowest number of traffic deaths in the state in nearly 60 years.

The patrol says 860 people died on Missouri roads last year -- the first time since 1950 that the state had fewer than 900 traffic deaths.

Patrol Superintendent Col. James Keathley says there are many reasons for the decline, but he believes the hard work of state troopers is one of them.

Keathley says making Missouri's highways safer and reducing motorist injuries and deaths is a priority of the law enforcement agency.