Interstate crashes snarl traffic

Motorists traveling Interstate 55 found themselves stuck in traffic for miles Thursday afternoon after two separate motor-vehicle accidents occurred within minutes of each other in Cape Girardeau.

The northbound collision involved a passenger vehicle and a van that collided at mile marker 98.4 near Center Junction.

A van with front-end damage is seen Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020, in the median of Interstate 55 near mile marker 98.4 where a motor vehicle collision forced closures of northbound traffic lanes for about an hour.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

One person was transported from the scene by ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann.

Northbound traffic was reduced to one lane as emergency crews responded to the accident, and the shoulder of the roadway was used for vehicles to circumvent the scene of the crash. Both northbound lanes of Interstate 55 were reopened shortly before 1 p.m.

Members of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department divert southbound traffic around the scene of a single-vehicle collision involving a motorcycle Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020, on Interstate 55 near exit 91 as crews with Sperling's Garage and Wrecker Service prepare to tow the damaged vehicle.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

Around the same time about 7 miles south, a single-vehicle collision involving a motorcycle occurred on southbound Interstate 55 near mile marker 91.

Hann stated the operator of the motorcycle was transported from the scene by ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries.

Southbound traffic was reduced to one lane as emergency crews responded to the accident, and the shoulder of the roadway was used for vehicles to circumvent the scene of the crash. Both southbound lanes of Interstate 55 were reopened shortly after 12:30 p.m.