Eastern Missouri Man Killed, Officer Injured In Fiery Crash

Authorities say a man has died and a Eureka police officer was injured trying to rescue him from a fiery crash in eastern Missouri.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the crash happened Monday morning, when a car crossed the center line and collided head-on with a semitrailer on Old Highway 66.

The impact caused a gas tank on one of the vehicles to explode as the driver of the car — later identified as 32-year-old Joshua Townsend — was trapped inside. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Officer Mark Tinkham suffered minor injuries as he tried to extinguish the flames and free Townsend.

Townsend was pronounced dead at the scene.