SARCOXIE, Mo. -- Two Missouri Southern State University football players from Springfield died after a crash on Interstate 44. Diondre (Dre) Johnson, 19, and Michael (Mike) McCrimmons, 19, were in a westbound sport utility vehicle that crashed two miles east of Sarcoxie about 2:30 a.m. Friday. Johnson and McCrimmons were graduates of Parkview High School.
Investigators say four people were in the vehicle. It went over the median cable barrier into the eastbound lanes.
Dre Johnson was ejected and killed. McCrimmons died when a tractor-trailer hit the overturned vehicle. The driver, Jeremy Johnson, 19, of Harrison, Ark., was hit by a car as he walked along the highway. He's hospitalized but his condition wasn't available on Friday. Another student, Patrick Holt, 19, of Benton, Ark., a member of MSSU's golf team, is hospitalized in serious condition in Springfield.
The accident delayed traffic for five hours, forcing some cars to get off the interstate.
