Author: KMIZ

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Five Guys burger restaurant in east Columbia will open at its normal time Tuesday after a morning HVAC fire.

The damage was limited to a rooftop HVAC unit, Columbia Fire Department Capt. Brandon Wasson said. No one was hurt.

Wasson said firefighters cleared the building of smoke and the business would open at its regular time. The restaurant’s website says it opens at 11 a.m.

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Gabrielle Teiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 48-year-old Kaiser woman was seriously hurt during a crash in Camden County just before 7 p.m. Monday.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the woman was driving a 2008 Honda Element south on Highway D at Locust Road. The report says she was speeding down the curvy road and went off the right side of the road.

The car began to skid, crossed the center of the road and went off the left side of the road. The car crashed into a tree, causing it to overturn onto the passenger side.

The woman was taken to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance with serious injuries.

The report states the woman was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The Honda was totaled.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools welcomes thousands of students back to campus for the first day of school on Tuesday.

With classes back in session, drivers need to be mindful of traffic impacts as the school year kicks off.

Crews have finished the roundabout project at Sinclair Road and Southampton Dr., which leads to Eagle Bluffs Elementary, Mill Creek Elementary and John Warner Middle School.

John Warner Middle School released from class at 2:35 p.m. an ABC 17 News reporter saw traffic backed up on Sinclair Rd for about 15 minutes. Eagle Bluffs Elementary School got out of school at 3:20 p.m. and traffic backed up on the road for about 25 minutes. The same reporter saw little-to-no cars in the elementary school pickup line by 4 p.m.

According to Columbia Public Schools, the district’s total first-day enrollment is 18,430 students. CPS said that this represents an increase of 60 students from the 2025-26 enrollment.

According to CPS, these numbers are considered unofficial, as the official enrollment number is calculated on the last Wednesday of September. This number does not include late enrollments that are still being processed.

Another area drivers may see some traffic is Clark Lane and Hanover Boulevard, where Missouri Department of Transportation crews have closed the intersection for roundabout work expected to take two months.

Crews will also continue working on the Providence Road bridge over Interstate 70. A spokesperson for MoDOT says the department is heavily monitoring the area to set up a traffic signal timing plan that can be used for the next two months on school days until the Providence interchange reopens.

Drivers are encouraged to plan ahead, leave early, slow down and pay extra attention, especially in school zones.

As the school year begins in Missouri, drivers are reminded of the new school bus safety law.

Missouri’s new school bus safety law — SB 1421 — takes effect Aug. 28 and significantly increases fines and license penalties for drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses with flashing red lights and extended stop arms.

According to the law, the new penalties for illegally passing a stopped school bus are:

First offense: Fine of $500 to $1,000, five points added to your driver’s license, and a court-ordered 90-day license suspension.

Second offense (within five years): Fine of $1,000 to $2,000, five points, and a 90-day license suspension.

Third or subsequent offense (within five years): Fine of $1,000 to $3,000, five points, and a 180-day license suspension.

If a child is physically injured: Class E felony, up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

If a child is seriously physically injured: Class D felony, up to seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

No driver’s license points are automatically attached to the ticket under current state law, and the standard fine for a first-time stop violation is about $130.

Additionally, Columbia Public Schools may look to improve state testing scores between student demographic groups heading into a new school year.

CPS has struggled for years with what some leaders have called the “achievement gap,” which refers to the disparity in standardized test scores between certain student demographics and their peers. This year’s scores show Black students were nearly 30 percentage points behind the overall student average, despite gains over the last five years.

That dynamic was seen in 2025 scores, as well. During the 2024-2025 school year, Black fourth graders scored 9.4% proficient in math, compared to 19.6% for students overall. The gap grew in fifth grade, at 7.3% and 21.4%, respectively.

The scores are used by state officials to grade schools and make up a major part of the state’s Annual Performance Reports for schools. The state can intervene in schools that show continued poor performance.

Water main break affects Grant Elementary

A water main break occurred Tuesday morning, which affected Grant Elementary and those in the nearby area. The Columbia Public Library closed on Tuesday as a result.

The district wrote in a press release that students and staff at Grant Elementary were given bottled water “and plans were in place to address meal preparations and other needs within the building.”

Water service has since been restored. A boil advisory is in place and bottled water will be offered to students and staff until it is over, the release says.

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Matthew Sanders

America and Canada are at each other’s throats again over trade.

Tensions have flared between the North American neighbors already in this administration, but the latest round includes 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian products. The tariffs will take effect in 30 days.

Trump uses tariffs as a negotiating tactic, and the U.S. and Canada have been in economic talks. At least one Canadian politician urged fellow Canadians to fight back against the U.S. by boycotting American goods, and the country’s prime minister pledged to protect American workers.

Do you think Trump’s aggressive negotiating position will help Americans? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman sued a Columbia apartment complex on Monday after she claims a maintenance worker rummaged through her dirty clothes hamper and sniffed her underwear.

A “Jane Doe” filed the lawsuit in Boone County on Monday against Country Club Apartments and employee Juan Carlos Vazquez Martinez. The woman accuses the apartment and Vazquez Martinez of invasion of privacy, negligent infliction of emotional stress and an additional count of negligent training against Country Club Apartments.

The petition in the case alleges that the woman moved into Country Club Apartments on June 1 and had to provide her own washing machine. She requested maintenance to look at it the next day to make sure it was properly installed, court documents say.

Vazquez Martinez allegedly spoke about unrelated topics with the woman for a few minutes after checking the washing machine, documents say.

The woman installed cameras on June 14 and called for a maintenance request for a water leak occurring from the washing machine, the petition says. Vazquez Martinez and another employee arrived the next day while the woman was not home.

Video allegedly caught Vazquez Martinez going to the woman’s closet, rummaging through a clothes hamper and then sniffing her underwear, court documents allege. Vazquez Martinez allegedly did this while the other employee was not in the room.

The woman shared the video with Country Club Apartments and the Columbia Police Department that same day and was told by the company that Vazquez Martinez was put on leave, court documents say. She then requested her locks to be changed.

A week later, the woman reached back out to the complex’s management and was told Vazquez Martinez was still on leave, but he was still on the property, court documents allege. The woman then saw Vazquez Martinez on the property multiple times through Aug. 12, the petition says.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 21-year-old man fell from the rooftop of Harpo’s Bar and Grill, located at 29 South Tenth St. on Sunday night, and he’s in critical condition.

CFP responded to the medical emergency just after Corbin Rodenberg fell around 9:10 p.m. First responders provided medical aid before he was transported to a hospital, Columbia Fire Department spokesperson Skyler Clark said.

A witness told ABC 17 News that Rodenberg was sitting on the railing when he fell.

The minimum height requirement for outdoor railings is 42 inches, Clark said. City of Columbia spokesman Christopher Ave said the city inspected the bar in 2018 and it passed. The city only inspects buildings before they open to the public. The bar had a remodel occur in 2018.

The Tenth and Cherry parking garage near Harpo’s also has railings at the minimum height. ABC 17 News noticed that the rooftop bar appears to be on the second floor, but one side is higher off the ground than the other.

Other rooftop bars, such as The Roof, located at 1111 E. Broadway, have large, clear barriers that extend several feet into the air, well over the heads of bar patrons. This bar is also on top of the Broadway Hotel.

Attorney Jill Harper said there are a couple of things that would need to be proven to show the bar is at fault for the fall.

The first thing to look at is the railing, and consider its integrity. Harper said furniture placement could also be taken into account as to whether the furniture makes it easy to sit on the railing.

The other aspect to keep in mind is whether Harpo’s employees tried to stop Rodenberg from sitting on the railing. Harper said that if not, it could be negligence on the bar’s part.

Alcohol overconsumption would not be a legal argument here, since Missouri’s dram-shop law only applies to people under the legal drinking age, Harper said.

It’s not the first time someone has been seriously injured after falling at a Columbia bar, but it’s the first in about 16 years. In 2010, 19-year-old Kelsi Poe fell down a stairwell at Quinton’s Bar and Deli, which is now closed.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The new roundabout at Sinclair Road and Southampton Drive was open to traffic on Monday.

A portion of Sinclair Road had recently closed for about a month between Nifong Boulebard and Muirfield Drive to complete a roundabout.

A Columbia Public Works spokesman told ABC 17 News in an email that a concrete island will be added to the crosswalk south of Crabapple Lane in the next two weeks.

This comes as Columbia Public Schools begin class on Tuesday. John Warner Middle School and the new Eagle Bluffs Elementary School are located on South Sinclair Road. Mill Creek Elementary School is near the roundabout at West Nifong Boulevard and Sinclair Street.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Roundabout construction started on Monday morning at Clark Lane and Hanover Boulevard in Columbia.

The construction lead to a portion of Clark Lane to close, with construction lasting around 60 days, according to previous reporting.

During the closure, the business entrance west of the intersection will be closed, but the entrance on Hanover Boulevard will be open, a Friday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department is no longer releasing the names of people who died in crashes, a CPD spokesman told ABC 17 News

Spokesman Brian McNeill told ABC 17 News in an email that CPD is following the example of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and stated the same reasoning as the patrol for concealing the information was used.

MSHP announced on Nov. 1, 2024, that it would no longer publish the names of those involved in crashes and boat/drowning reports.  MSHP wrote in a release that it was no longer publishing names because it was “notified of scam incidents across the state” that targets crash victims or people who know someone involved in a crash.”

CPD had announced the name of the victim in a fatal crash that occurred on Aug. 14.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged in Cooper County with a felony and a misdemeanor after he allegedly pointed a loaded gun at a teenager during a road-rage incident Saturday night on Interstate 70.

Jalin Crenshaw was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. He was not listed on a jail roster on Monday afternoon. An initial court appearance was scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22.

The probable cause statement says a 17-year-old boy called law enforcement at 10:14 p.m. Saturday after the driver of a Chevrolet pickup truck had pointed a gun with a laser at him.

The statement says the victim had flashed his headlights at Crenshaw’s vehicle while he tried to pass him on eastbound I-70 in Cooper County. Crenshaw’s vehicle got in front of the victim’s vehicle again and the victim once again passed him, the statement says.

Crenshaw then allegedly pointed the gun and shined the laser at the victim after he passed his Chevrolet, the statement says.

The victim allegedly followed Crenshaw to Columbia and police found two guns in Crenshaw’s vehicle. Crenshaw alleged he did not pull out the gun until he arrived in Columbia because he was being followed, the statement says. The guns had ammunition loaded in them.

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