Category: kmiz-local-news

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Macks Creek woman was seriously hurt after a crash in Camden County Saturday morning.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the 25-year-old was headed west on U.S. Route 54 in a 2001 Ford Explorer when she crashed west of Elliot Drive just before 7 a.m.

The SUV veered off to the right side of the road, then returned to its lane before going off the left side of the road. The report says it then hit a ditch and overturned.

The woman went to Lake Regional Hospital with serious injuries. She was not wearing a seatbelt and the vehicle was totaled.

Click here to follow the original article.

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A large vehicle fire blocked traffic from using an I-70 on-ramp in Boone County on Saturday night.

Boone County Fire crews were called to the Rocheport westbound on-ramp at mile marker 115 around 11 p.m. and found a car hauler carrying about seven cars had caught fire, according to Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Chuck Doss. He said the trailer was “well involved” in flames when firefighters arrived.

After the fire was under control, crews were able to gain access to the vehicles and move a Chevrolet Equinox that appeared to have no damage off the carrier.

“So really, we’ve got seven car fires going,” Doss said. “The six on the trailer, plus the semi.”

Doss added that the multi-level carrier made fighting the fire difficult, with cars on both levels catching fire.

“Having those vehicles elevated, we had to get ladders to get to the top of those, and with those car fires, the vehicles burning on that top level, getting access to it was a challenge,” Doss said.

A large vehicle fire was seen on I-70 in Boone County, near mile marker 115, around 11:30 p.m. on Apr. 4, 2026. [Courtesy: MoDOT Traveler Map]

In a Boone County Joint Communications alert sent around 11:15 p.m., drivers were asked to avoid the area. Doss said no drivers were able to get on I-70 from Route BB as crews worked the scene.

An ABC 17 News reporter on scene saw heavy fire and smoke coming from the hauler around 11:30 p.m. Tires could be heard popping. No injuries were reported, according to Doss.

At least five Missouri State Highway Patrol vehicles were seen, alongside Boone County Fire trucks and an MU Health Care ambulance. A MoDOT vehicle was also at the scene.

Three BCFPD tankers drove back and forth, carrying water from a hydrant down the road to the scene, Doss said.

ABC 17 News is at the scene working to learn more.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person was transported to the hospital with minor trauma Saturday night after a car accident on I-70.

Gale Blomenkamp, with Boone County Fire Protection District, tells ABC 17 News it was a crash between two cars.

Skylar Clark, with the Columbia Fire Department, said their firefighters were called to assist the crash near the 133 mile marker going eastbound, just past North Tradewinds Pkwy. However, they were called back after getting word that Boone County Fire had the scene under control.

Blomenkamp said the area of the crash was near a construction zone and one lane was temporarily closed.

Click here to follow the original article.

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Kingdom City woman is under investigation after multiple crashes Friday evening.

According to a press release from the Columbia Police Department, multiple calls came in at around 6:30 p.m. for a disturbance in the 4500 block of Stevendave Drive.

Officers found a vehicle, driven by 29-year-old Cassandra Albright, had crashed into a home, the release says. The home had two adults and four children inside. No injuries were reported.

Officers later found Albright had also crashed her vehicle into a trailer and fence in the 2200 block of Murrell Drive and had aggressively driven toward two teenage pedestrians in the area, the release says. She then allegedly drove into a tree in the 4500 block of Waterloo Drive and was taken to a local hospital with injuries from the crashes.

Charges are pending, according to the release. Albright was not listed in the Boone County Jail as of Saturday morning.

Click here to follow the original article.

Haley Swaino

EDITOR’S NOTE: A correction has been made to where in Columbia shots were fired.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No one was hurt after police found evidence of shots fired in west Columbia early Saturday, according to Sgt. Matthew Nichols.

A large police presence was seen on Redwood Road, just off of West Ash Street, around 3 a.m. At the scene, Nichols said officers received multiple calls reporting shots heard in the area.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw at least nine Columbia Police Department cruisers, an evidence van and eight evidence markers spanning from about 115 to 121 Redwood Road.

Nichols said there were “multiple scenes” and also confirmed there was property damage in the area. A reporter saw a car in the 110 block with its left passenger window shattered and officers taking photos of it.

Another ABC 17 News reporter went to the scene around 4 p.m. Saturday and spoke to the owner of the car.

“I was just kind of baffled that out of everyone in the neighborhood, it could have hit, I was the only person who had any property damage,” Lenna Peterson said. “I guess just kind of confused and baffled.”

Peterson said her car, a white Ford Focus, was shot about three or four times.

The back window behind the driver’s seat was busted.

Two bullet holes were also visible in the body of the car, near the back driver-side tire.

Another bullet hole went through the back passenger window.

Peterson said she didn’t hear anything leading up to the shots being fired.

“It’s not like I heard screaming or anything, or I heard an argument, it didn’t sound like a fight. It was just random gunshots,” she said. “I was a little freaked out, but just more confused than anything.”

As for the car, Peterson said insurance might not cover the damages.

“I think the cost of replacing everything might eclipse the worth of my vehicle,” Peterson said.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

Editor’s note: The block number was corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No injuries were reported in a house fire that occurred Friday night in southern Columbia.

The fire was reported at a home in the 200 block of West Old Plank Road. The fire is believed to have been started in the garage, though the cause and origin are still under investigation, according to a Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman.

CFD spokeswoman Skyler Clark told an ABC 17 News reporter that crews were called at 9 p.m. and the fire was put out by 9:20 p.m. Significant damage was seen in the garage and siding.

Four kittens were saved from the home.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former West Middle School teacher who was charged with statutory sodomy and other charges earlier this year was arrested again on Friday.

Zachary Hutchinson, 38, of Columbia, is being held at the Boone County Jail. New charges were not shown on Casenet on Friday evening. Jail records indicate he is being held without bond.

He is currently charged with three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, one count of child enticement, sexually exploiting a minor, misdemeanor giving porn to a minor, second-degree promoting child porn and 10 counts of child porn possession.

The Columbia Police Department announced the new arrest in a Friday evening social media post and claim he is facing an additional 23 counts of child porn possession. His first stint in the Boone County Jail ended after he bonded out on Feb. 4 and was ordered to home detention.

Previous reporting says the victim in the original case was not someone Hutchinson met through his job as a teacher.

CPD in its social media post asked to speak with anyone “anyone who may have had contact with this individual under similar circumstances or who has information relevant to this case.”

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 just west of Columbia were closed on Friday during rush hour after a crash.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, at around 5:45 p.m., a 27-year-old Columbia man was driving a 2021 Ram 3500 east on I-70 when he passed a 38-year-old Fayette woman driving a 2017 GMC Acadia and a 55-year-old Columbia woman driving a 2024 Volkswagen Jetta.

He then hit both cars and drove off the right side of the road, hit an embankment, and drove back onto the road. The Ram and the Volkswagen stopped in the left lane while the GMC overturned off the left side of the road and stopped in the median.

The Ram had a 26-year-old male passenger from Colombia who was seriously injured in the crash. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

The GMC was also carrying a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old boy from Fayette and a 15-year-old girl from New Franklin. The boy was seriously injured, while both girls had minor injuries. The woman driving the GMC also had minor injuries. The boy was not wearing a seatbelt.

An 80-year-old woman from Columbia was a passenger in the Volkswagen. She was seriously hurt in the crash, the report says. The other woman driving the Volkswagen had minor injuries.

All seven people injured in the crash were taken to University Hospital by ambulance. All three vehicles were totaled.

Boone County Joint Communications sent a message at 5:47 p.m. stating that a crash occurred in the eastbound lane near mile-marker 122, which is near the Sorrels Overpass. The road was declared closed three minutes later.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop F – which covers much of Mid-Missouri – wrote on its social media at 6:08 p.m. that three vehicles were involved in the crash and injuries have been reported. One vehicle rolled over and is blocking the roadway.

MSHP spokesman Kyle Green told ABC 17 News that a driver of one of the vehicles was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

🚨Injury Crash Blocking EB I-70🚨

Troopers are investigating a three vehicle crash with injuries on eastbound I-70, at the 122.8 mile marker ( just west of Columbia), in Boone County.

One vehicle has rolled over and the roadway is blocked. Please avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/tlA6SRMgED

— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) April 3, 2026

An ABC 17 News photographer saw traffic backed up in the eastbound to the Midway exit, which is about a mile west of the crash. Traffic also slowed in the westbound lanes near the crash.

Traffic started moving again around 6:35 p.m.

ABC 17 News has reached out to a number of first responder agencies.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

President Donald Trump on Friday announced an executive order that can change the landscape of college sports.

College athletes can currently transfer schools after the end of a season, which reversed course a previous rule that made athletes sit out a year if they chose to play at the same level. Both of those options have seen heavy criticism.

Trump’s executive order would limit athletes to transferring once during a five-year period “with immediate playing eligibility, and one additional such time if the student-athlete obtains a four-year degree.”

It limits players to just five years of eligibility as an undergraduate student. There have been recent criticisms of some athletes receiving long-extended eligibility, including one in 2024 who entered his ninth season of football. The order does say it can make an exception for an athlete attending graduate school.

The order also prohibits professional players from playing in college athletics. Charles Bediako, who was a player in the NBA’s developmental league, was able to play a few games for the Alabama men’s basketball team this season, but was later determined by a judge to be not eligible.

Other parameters in the order include banning federal funds “for NIL or revenue-sharing payments or coaching or athletic compensation.”

The University of Missouri’s athletic department had no comment on the executive order on Friday afternoon.

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement on the conference’s social media supporting the order and the SCORE Act, which takes aim at clarifying rules on money related to name, image and likeness.

“The establishment and enforcement of consistent national standards for college athletics remains a top priority, and President Trump’s executive order provides important clarity to help ensure all programs operate under comparable policies,” the statement says.

Commissioner @GregSankey on Presidential Executive Order: pic.twitter.com/WPWPMf5BsF

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) April 3, 2026

The Big 10 Conference similarly thanked Trump and supported the order on its social media. The Big 12 and ACC also approved of the measure.

A statement from Commissioner Tony Petitti on the Presidential Executive Order. pic.twitter.com/VQYuPEeV75

— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) April 3, 2026

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former jailer who was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this year was sentenced on Friday to three years in prison.

Robyn Pfeiffer was found guilty on Feb. 3 by a Callaway County jury for first-degree involuntary manslaughter in the death of Brooke Bailey.

Bailey, of Jefferson City, died on Oct. 27, 2023, from untreated diabetes in her cell at the Cooper County Jail. Court documents say several jail workers told investigators with the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office that Pfeiffer brushed off Bailey’s complaints of feeling ill, saying the inmate was “playing games.”

Bailey was found dead in her cell with blood and vomit on the floor and on her clothing. Bailey was being held for a commitment to the Department of Mental Health.

A medical examiner found Bailey died from diabetic ketoacidosis and low sodium levels.

Rachel Atherton, a second former jailer in the case, asked for a bench trial last month. She is charged with first-degree manslaughter. A four-day bench trial is scheduled for begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 21.

Click here to follow the original article.