Multiple Accidents on Eastbound and Westbound I-44 Cause Injuries Tuesday

[Editor's note: FOX2 continues to report the tractor trailer crash occurred on westbound lanes, though Missouri State Highway Patrol reports confirm the accident closed eastbound lanes.]

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported several accidents with injuries on Interstate 44 in Fenton on Tuesday.

Around 3 p.m., MoDOT announced on their St. Louis Traffic Twitter feed that westbound lanes of I-44 to Soccer Park Road was stalling traffic. That accident was cleared some time around 3 p.m. according to MoDOT. 

A tractor trailer caused a four-vehicle collision in the eastbound lanes near Bowles Avenue around 2:57 p.m., injuring three people, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports. 

The tractor trailer, driven by Cody Oien, of Shoreview, Minn., failed to stop for vehicles stopped ahead. Oien rear-ended a Honda Accord stopped in front of him before also striking a Volvo S60 and Chrysler Town and Country. The tractor trailer continued off the road and struck a fence in the ditch, according to the crash report.

The collision blocked eastbound traffic for several hours. Lanes were reopened shortly after 7 p.m., according to an update from MoDOT.

View a slideshow of the scene from FOX2.

Ruth Ell, of St. Charles, and Nedzad Makic, of St. Louis, were transported to Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur with serious injuries. Kimberly Graziano, of Union, was transported to Mercy with moderate injuries. Oien was not injured. The tractor trailer sustained extensive damage while the other three vehicles were totaled, according to the report.

A rep with Missouri State Highway Patrol told KSDK the accident on eastbound I-44 occurred when "drivers were looking over at an accident in the westbound lanes."

A man from Spanish Lake, Mo., was transferred to Mercy on Tuesday morning after striking a bridge guardrail .1 mile east of Soccer Park Road, Missouri State Highway Patrol reports. Curtis Moore served to avoid stopped traffic from a previous accident when he struck the guardrail around 10:48 a.m.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.