Apr 3, 2008

Two Springfield motorists sustained minor to moderate injuries in a one-vehicle crash on Highway 14 east of Ava last Wednesday night, March 26. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the driver, Ashley B. Gertz, 22, of Springfield, was taken to Cox South Hospital with moderate injuries. Her husband, Michael Peck, 27, also of Springfield, was treated at the scene but refused further treatment. Cpl. Brian Thompson, who investigated the crash for the Highway Patrol, said the wreck occurred as the driver lost control of her eastbound 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, ran off the left side of the roadway, struck an embankment, spun around and overturned in the roadway. The wreck occurred at 8 p.m., 10 miles east of Ava. A 20-year-old Mtn. Grove woman, Courtney L. Mills, was treated by EMS personnel at the scene of a two-car crash north of Ava on March 19, and was taken to Cox South Hospital by private car. The Highway Patrols said Mills, traveling north on Highway 5 in a 2004 Jeep Cherokee, failed to slow down for a second north bound car that was slowing to make a left turn, and rear-ended a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup driven by Sue C. Berger, 50, of Ava. Mills was cited for following too close. That wreck, investigated by Tpr. R.D. Crewse, occurred at 4:48 p.m., four miles north of Ava.