Two people died in separate vehicle crashes that happened Friday afternoon in Springfield.
The first accident involved two vehicles and happened at 3:22 p.m. on Interstate 44 near the Glenstone Avenue exit.
According to a news release from the Springfield Police Department, 32-year-old Bashir Mohamed, from Minneapolis, was driving a tractor-trailer westbound on I-44.
The semi-truck left the roadway just west of U.S. Highway 65, crossed into the median and went through the cable barrier and guard rail. The tractor-trailer hit a 2022 Toyota Sienna, driven by Jennifer Bryant, 45, from Springfield, and a 2006 Freightliner truck.
Bryant died at the scene of the accident, according to police. This was Springfield’s first traffic crash of 2024.
Mohamed and his passenger were transported to a Springfield hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Freightliner had minor injuries.
According to the Springfield News-Leader, Bryant worked as a science teacher at Hillcrest High School for 20 years. She taught regular and honors classes on biology and physics as well as Advanced Placement biology.
Second fatal and unrelated crash happened soon after
A second crash involving one vehicle happened at 3:55 p.m. Friday at Kearney Street and General Aviation Avenue.
Harold Carpenter, 84, from Fair Grove, was driving a silver 2011 Ford Taurus westbound on Kearney. According to police, Carpenter failed to navigate the interchange onto General Aviation Avenue, and his car traveled across a grass median and hit a concrete wall.
Carpenter died on scene. This was Springfield’s second fatal traffic crash in 2024.
The circumstances of both of these crashes are still under investigation, according to Springfield police.
