Houston, MO – A one-vehicle crash has killed one man from Houston and sent two others to the hospital. The accident occurred 1:25 p.m. Monday afternoon on State Route 17, eight miles north of Summersville in Texas County.
A 1999 Ford Taurus driven by Thomas Franklin, 25 of Houston, was southbound when it failed to negotiate a curve, traveling off the roadway and striking a fence before overturning multiple times and ejecting Franklin and his two passengers, Jason McGrath, 47 of Houston, and Daniel Ketchum, 21 of Houston. No person in the vehicle had been wearing a safety device.
Jason McGrath was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident by the Texas County Coroner Marie Lasater at 2:24 p.m. Franklin suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Ketchum received moderate injuries and was taken to Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston.
This incident was investigated by Corporal J. R. Sellars of Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop G. This makes Troop G’s 26th fatality for 2021 as compared to 32 in 2020.
