STATE PATROLMAN KILLED IN CRASH

FREDERICKTOWN -- A trooper with the Missouri Highway Patrol died in a one-car accident Saturday while attempting to overtake a speeder.

Sgt. Randy Sullivan, 40, of Fredericktown was pronounced dead on arrival by rescue workers. Sullivan, a 17-year patrol veteran, is survived by his wife and three children.

A highway patrol recruit who was a passenger in the vehicle suffered moderate injuries. The recruit, Christopher Thompson, 23, of Pilot Knob was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, where he remained in stable condition Sunday night.

A spokesman with Highway Patrol Troop E in Poplar Bluff gave this account.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday on Highway 72, seven miles west of Fredericktown, Sullivan detected a speeding motorist on radar and attempted to catch up. Sullivan lost control of his patrol car, which ran off the road and hit several trees. The vehicle caught on fire with Sullivan inside and was engulfed in flames when rescue units arrived.

Thompson somehow managed to get free of the vehicle.

The spokesman said the situation is not being classified as a pursuit since the speeding motorist wasn't attempting to flee.