Man Charged in Deadly Crash Was Target of Drug Investigation

Authorities say a Springfield man charged with fleeing from officers and causing a deadly Springfield crash had been the target of a drug investigation.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that 54-year-old Tommy Morris Jr. is charged with second-degree murder and two drug charges. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Police say that when narcotics investigators tried to stop Morris on Tuesday after a suspected drug deal, he drove off, hitting a man pushing a shopping cart in a grocery store parking lot. Police say he then ran a red light, causing a four-vehicle crash. The pileup killed one of the other drivers, 31-year-old Dana Nichole Sowards, of Nixa.

Police say meth was found in Morris' car. Police haven't located the man hit at the grocery store.