NEW MADRID -- A New Madrid County woman was killed Sunday afternoon in a head-on collision on Interstate 55, near Matthews.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that Mildred Keen, 77, of New Madrid died around 4:30 Sunday afternoon from injuries sustained in an accident a half-mile south of the Matthews exit.

Keen's car was traveling south in a northbound lane on the interstate when it collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Harold Hunzicker, 57, of Salem, Ill.

Hunzicker, who received moderate injuries in the accident, was transported by helicopter to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

Also injured in the accident were Phyllis and Amanda Hunzicker, both of Salem, and Lois Freeman of Greenfield, Texas. The three women, who were all passengers in Hunzicker's vehicle, were taken to Missouri Delta Hospital in Sikeston.

Keen's death is the 21st traffic fatality of the year in the Troop E region, equally the mark of last year at this time.