Category: kmiz-local-news

Jazsmin Halliburton

AUDRAIN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Five children and an adult were injured in a crash that involved a North Callaway School District bus on Thursday morning, a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report shows.

All five children are from Kingdom City and range from ages 9-17. The report says they suffered moderate injuries and were brought to University Hospital by ambulance. MSHP previously said none of the injuries were life-threatening.

The injured children included a 9-year-old boy, 11-year-old girl, 15-year-old boy and two 17-year-old girls, according to the report.

The report says the crash occurred near the intersection of Audrain County Road 845 and County Road 852. A 2010 Ford F-150 – driven by a 21-year-old man from Montgomery City – was heading northbound when it slid and hit the school bus, the report says. The Ford stopped in the roadway, while the bus slid and overturned and stopped on its side.

The driver of the Ford also had moderate injuries and was brought to University Hospital by ambulance, the report says. MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

The bus was carrying eight students at the time of the crash.

Witness describes scene

Donna Kessler, a North Callaway resident, told ABC 17 News she was waiting with her granddaughter for her school bus to the Community R-6 school district and saw the crash.

“Saw her bus coming and I turned around and looked at her and said your bus is coming and about that time we saw this other bus, which we normally see, coming up 852 and this other guy coming down 845 from the South and he didn’t stop,” Kessler said.

🚨Audrain County School Bus Crash🚨

Troopers are investigating a crash involving a school bus, with eight students on it, and a truck near the intersection of Audrain Road 853 & Audrain Road 845.

Thankfully, none of the injuries are considered life-threatening injuries. pic.twitter.com/7zJwSk6eYH

— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) October 2, 2025

North Callaway School District Superintendent Kenya Thompson told ABC 17 News the bus serviced Williamsburg Elementary School, the middle school and the high school. The district owns its own buses, and Thompson said she was waiting on the crash investigation from law enforcement to learn how the crash happened.

Kessler said after the bus rolled she got her granddaughter onto her bus and went to help.

“Kids were scared, they wanted their moms, they wanted to call,” Kessler said. “There were complaints of things like their back, their neck, their knees but no, I didn’t see any bleeding, which is amazing.”

“There were no life-threatening injuries,” Thompson said in a news release. “Injured students are being treated and transported to the University of Missouri Hospital as needed. The parents of those students have been contacted. The remaining students, cleared by emergency services, have been released to their parents.”

In Missouri, sealt belts are not required on school buses. According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education School, buses are equipped with a passive restraint system called compartmentalization. DESE says the seating area of a school bus is built with specially padded high-back, wider, thicker seats that protect students in school buses during accidents. No metal surfaces are exposed and seats are spaced close together to contain the students in cushioned compartments.

“One of the girls even remarked now I understand why they tell us not to fall asleep on the bus. Apparently she was laying down in the seat,” Kessler said.

Kessler said it didn’t take long for first responders to arrive to the scene because of a local school resource officer in the area.

“The school resource officer from R-6 was driving in the area and he came by thinking maybe it was his daughter’s boss and it wasn’t,” Kessler said. “Once I called it in it took them a few minutes.”

Kessler said she doesn’t see many incidents happen on the road, but people still need to be cautious due to there being no stop sign at the four way intersection.

“There really ought to be a stop sign down there because 852, which runs between A and JJ, that’s a frequently used road to get from one side to the other,” Kessler said.

Thompson also thanked first responders from both Audrain and Callaway counties for their help at the crash.

MSHP Sgt. Kyle Green said the road was temporarily closed as tow trucks worked the scene.

Kessler said she witnessed the accident shortly after 7 a.m. and didn’t return home from the crash scene until around 9 a.m.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Several organizations in Missouri have taken steps in preparation as the government shutdown enters day two.

Preparations have been made for some government assistance programs and education departments in Missouri. In a newsletter that was released before the government shutdown, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said it has taken steps to ensure operations can continue.

The University of Missouri’s research programs are also affected by the shutdown, as federal agencies’ proposal reviews, award processing and basic communication are on hold. However, the university’s research can continue.

A government shutdown means many government employees who are deemed essential workers aren’t getting paid for their time. For example, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) wrote in a press release that his staff will be in the office working.

EBT cards were loaded with funds on Wednesday, but if the shutdown continues, it could delay the funds for November. Food programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Emergency Food Assistance Program have enough funding until November.

National Guard troops will have to work without pay during the shutdown. This comes as Governor Mike Kehoe authorized the Missouri National Guard to help Immigration, Customs and Enforcement facilities in the state Tuesday.

The United States Postal Service will not be affected because it is independent and not funded by tax dollars.

Mark Twain National Forrest will remain closed during the shutdown due to a lapse in funding, per the national park’s voicemail.

According to ABC News, the FDA’s Animal Drugs and Food Program the shutdown ends pre-market safety reviews of animal food ingredients for livestock. This means that their will not be a reviews to ensure that meat, milk, and eggs of livestock are safe for people to eat.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Flowers, photos, balloons and candles were seen outside of a Columbia bar on Wednesday for a Stephens College student who was killed in a shooting over the weekend.

Aiyanna Williams, 21, of Columbia, died after she was shot early Saturday morning in downtown Columbia. The memorial was placed outside of Nash Vegas at the corner of East Broadway and North Tenth Street.

Police found 11 shell casings Saturday morning in the 800 block of East Broadway, along with Williams and two other people who were injured.

Williams’ obituary says funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 10 at The Crossing in Columbia.

Misael Covarrubias, 23, is charged in the shooting with second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A confined docket hearing for Covarrubias is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, while a preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 6.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has enough funding to last until November, according to Kim Buckman, Feeding Missouri advocacy and communication director.

The 2018 Farm Bill funds SNAP and the emergency food assistance program along with many agricultural programs. For these programs to keep going, Congress needs to renew the legislation, Buckman said.

If not, there will be a delay in benefits added to EBT cards beginning Nov. 1 when money is reloaded.

“The concern is, if it stretches into November, when USDA can’t really obligate new funds, that’s when families could start to fill the disruptions. That’s when food banks will start to see more of the demand and overflow,” Buckman said.

A government shutdown also means many government employees who are deemed essential workers aren’t getting paid for their time.

For example, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) wrote in a press release that his staff will be in the office working.

“Technically, at the current time with the government shutdown, no one is being paid for their work other than the principle,” a spokesperson for Alford said.

There are some exceptions to who gets paid, like the president and congress members, whose salaries are protected by the Constitution.

People who aren’t being paid during the shutdown will receive back pay for their time once the government reopens. Non-essentials workers, like administrative employees at Mark Twain National Forest, don’t go to work during the shutdown.

Buckman said there was an increase in the amount of people coming to food banks that partner with Feeding Missouri during the last government shutdown in 2018.

She said it was because of the uncertainty in when a pay check might come.

“We know where the need is going to be because we have been through this,” Buckman said.

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ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri’s School of Medicine’s Emergency Department held a “simulated mass casualty event” at Faurot Field on Wednesday.

Emergency medicine resident physicians trained for six different scenarios, including cardiac arrest, a field stampede incident, a player spinal injury and more.

The students used several actors and mannequins–plus a mobile lab to simulate medical incidents on the field.

According to MU Health Care, the training event is to make sure their physicians are trained for multiple types of emergencies beyond the walls of the hospital–including during Mizzou football games. 

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday to firing a gun in a north Columbia early last month.

Tanajee Hickem-Ricketts, 30, of Columbia, was charged in September with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. She was booked into the Boone County Jail around 1 p.m. Tuesday and is being held without bond. She had a court hearing on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. A bond hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a report of shots being fired on North Tyler Drive in northern Columbia on Sept. 2, but did not find a scene.

Police later stopped a vehicle on Clark Lane that had a bullet hole in its windshield, and the driver allegedly told them the vehicle was shot on North Tyler Drive. The driver allegedly told police he was driving to a residence for “a planned fight,” court documents say.

Police went to the residence on Sept. 3 to serve a search warrant and allegedly found a gun and then found four spent shell casings in the yard, the statement says.

Hickem-Ricketts arrived home and allegedly told police she fired a gun when she saw “multiple carloads of people drive onto her street,” court documents say. At least two homes were hit by gunfire, the statement says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An 85-year-old woman from Salisbury, Missouri, died in a crash Wednesday on Highway 24 near Highway 129 in Chariton County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says a 2008 Ford Taurus – driven by the woman – was heading north when it pulled into the path of a 1994 Kenworth T4 and was hit.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, the report says. She was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the report.

The driver of the Kenworth wore a seatbelt and had no reported injuries. Both vehicles had extensive damage, the report says.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 75-year-old man from Williamsville, Missouri, was seriously injured Wednesday in a crash on Route U in Pulaski County at Brush Lane, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the man was driving a 2003 Cadillac Deville northbound when it went off the right side of the road and hit a tree. The man was flown to University Hospital in Columbia with serious injuries, the report says.

The driver wore a seatbelt, according to the report. The Cadillac was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri immigration lawyer says due to new immigration policies, he has had to stop taking on removal cases for immigrants in detention.

“Changes to the immigration court system, how evidence is being evaluated, how charges are being brought, people are being placed in removal proceedings with far greater ease,” said David Cox, an Immigration Attorney in St. Louis.

Cox said he saw instant impacts to his practice after President Donald Trump returned back to the Oval Office.

“They’re not ever seeing a judge, they’re just being put on planes and shipped out of here,” Cox said. “They’re basically detaining everybody that they catch and no bond is allowed. That wasn’t the case before. You could litigate and get out on a bond if you’re not a threat to the community.”

Owen Ramsingh, a Columbia man who has had a green card since 1986, was detained last week by ICE agents in Chicago after returning from the Netherlands and landing at O’Hare International Airport. He has been in detention since.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson wrote on Tuesday that Ramsingh was detained due to previous convictions involving drug possession. One charge was expunged and the other conviction occurred in the 1998.

The last information Ramsingh’s wife has is that Owen was being transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas. He has a court date in Illinois scheduled for Oct. 15.

German Gonzalez Herrera, an Immigration Attorney in St. Louis, said he receives at least 10 calls a day from people in ICE detention. He described how the new immigration policies have created less time for attorneys to take on cases. He said it used to take him six months to help build a case, but the increased workload has made that difficult.

“When they are in detention, it’s really hard to help them,” German Gonzalez Herrera said.

He said the bar for obtaining asylum status has been raised under the Trump administration and is unattainable for many coming from bad situations.

“You need to pay $100 to apply for asylum. So many people that enter into many states they don’t have money. They say ‘OK, how do I pay the $100?'” Gonzalez Herrera said.

Gonzalez Herrera said he has had to start discussing avenues outside of U.S. citizenship with his clients, due to cases becoming harder and harder to win.

“My recommendation is save the money,” Gonzalez Herrera said. “Talk with the judge, explain your situation, what happened to you and if there is a miracle and the judge granted asylum it is a miracle.”

Cox reiterated the difficulty migrants face as cases become harder to win.

“My practice has changed, and I think a lot of other attorneys that used to do removal work are no longer doing so. They’re (other attorneys) just like me because they can’t win those cases. And it’s just not fair to their clients to charge that money to provide a service that’s going to get them,” Cox said.

Brad Sandler, an Immigration Lawyer and Partner at Stinson LLP in St. Louis said new policies in place have caused confusion for many of his clients.

“I’m having to spend two or three times more than I normally would on those people that are already here trying to help them understand how these things are impacting them,” Sandler said.

Cox said that he’s seen citizenship applications skyrocket since the Trump administration took office.

“We used to do one ceremony occasionally, usually a couple of times a month here in Saint Louis to swear in new citizens. Now they’re at least two every week with 50 new applicants every time,” Cox said.

He explained how the Missouri Federal Courts are trying to curb the increased number of applicants.

“The courthouse here in St. Louis handles Friday cases. The Tuesday cases, which is the other day they have ceremonies every week, are done in the federal building here in Saint Louis,” Cox said.

Sandler suggested more opportunities for work- and student-related visas as a way to promote legal immigration opportunities.

“All those programs, the numbers have not been adjusted since the economy and the number of people have grown. They were set up, you know, like in the 1990s in the population and the need for those programs has grown,” Sandler said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Eldon man was charged in Pettis County after he allegedly attacked another man with a metal bar and rammed his truck into the man’s vehicle on Sept. 26.

Tyler McCue, 50, was charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree assault, armed criminal action, leaving the scene of an accident and first-degree property damage. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says the victim was at a trailer with another person when McCue grabbed a woman out of the trailer and pulled her into his truck. McCue then allegedly hit the victim with a metal bar and then used a truck to hit the victim’s vehicle, causing more than $3,000 worth of damage, the statement says.

The victim had a large cut on the left side of his head and required five staples to shut it, a deputy wrote.

McCue allegedly denied the encounter occurring, the statement says.

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