TEXAS COUNTY, Mo. – Two men died in a head-on crash Friday evening in rural Missouri. Investigators say it happened as one driver tried to overtake another vehicle on a highway.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports Hayden J. Mercer, 20, of Searcy, Arkansas, and Richard E. Strom, 55, Licking, Missouri, died in the crash. Next of kin has been notified. The crash happened around 4:20 p.m. Friday on Highway VV, a few miles south of Licking.
Investigators say Mercer changed lanes in an attempt to overtake another vehicle to his left. While that happened, he struck Strom’s vehicle head-on.
Mercer and Strom were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. No other passengers or vehicles were involved.
Missouri State Highway Troop G in south-central Missouri is investigating the crash.