Wreck kills one, injures four in Scott County

A Mounds, Illinois, man was killed Tuesday afternoon when the vehicle he was driving in the northbound lanes of Interstate 55 crossed the median and collided with two southbound vehicles. The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. south of the Benton exit in northern Scott County.

Kevin E. Potts, 58, was pronouced dead at the scene by Scott County Coroner Scott Amick. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the 1991 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck Potts was driving crossed the median and ran through about 200 feet of cable barriers before colliding with a 2010 Cadillac CTS driven by Terrica Kershaw, 31, of Cape Girardeau, and a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse driven by Jacqueline Wallace, 62, of East Prairie, Missouri.

Kershaw and a passenger in her vehicle, Jadarius Resonno, 14, of Howardville, Missouri, sustained serious injuries and were taken by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center. Two other passengers in her car, Gemase Daniels, 9, and Kuron Kershaw, 13, both of Cape Girardeau, sustained minor injuries and were also taken to Saint Francis.

According to police, neither Potts nor Kershaw were wearing seat belts. Wallace was not injured and was using a seat belt.

Potts was the 20th traffic fatality in the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop E district in 2019.