Advertisement
YOU ARE HERE: KY3 HomeCollectionsMotorcycle

UPDATE: Couple from Bois D' Arc killed in crash

Police released their names Monday afternoon.

May 21, 2012|by Sara Forhetz, KY3 News

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Springfield police have now identified a couple from Bois D' Arc killed on Saturday afternoon when an SUV was forced across two lanes of traffic and hit them head-on.

Gary and Denice Zenger died at the scene.  He was 56, she was 63.

It was a perfect bikers day. Sunny. Breezy. Smooth road.
Then in the blink of a eye, tragedy.

"We think there may have been some inattention going along with this that caused the initial series of events to unfold," said Officer David Snider.

He says reconstructing what led up to the crash will be a long process.
The speed limit is 50 miles per hour along the West Bypass stretch, with little room for error.

"Once we put everything together we can calculate the approximate speeds and what each vehicle did with the individual actions," Snider said.

Apparently the van forced the SUV over median on West Bypass.

"I seen this in the distance and I freaked because I was afraid of my son living out here on a motorcycle," said Angie Dingman.  Turns out, her son was not involved, but three other bikes were.

Police say a van somehow collided with the SUV while both of them were heading north on West Bypass.

Advertisement

That collision sent the SUV into oncoming traffic.  It hit a motorcycle head-on, carrying the Zengers.

They died at the scene, and they were wearing their helmets.  Then, two other motorcycles and a truck could not stop in time, and they also collided into the crash.

Many have questioned why there isn't a higher concrete barrier dividing the northbound and southbound lanes on West Bypass, considering the high speed and high volume of traffic.

MoDOT says since there are several smaller streets, like Mt. Vernon and Grand, that cross-over the Bypass, a divider wall could cause visibility problems for more drivers.

The investigation is ongoing.

KY3 Articles
|
|
|