Driver seriously injured in head-on crash on Missouri highway

JOHNSON CO., Mo. (KCTV) – One driver was seriously injured in a head-on collision on a state highway between Warrensburg and Whiteman Air Force Base on Halloween.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol indicates that just before 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, October 31, emergency crews were called to the area of SE 601 and SE 581 Rd., west of Whiteman Air Force Base, with reports of a two-vehicle collision.

When first responders arrived, they said they found Jeremy M. Duensing, 35, of Warrensburg, driving his 2010 Ford Fusion north on the road. Meanwhile, Nicholas D. Smith, 46, of Warrensburg, was driving his 2021 Ford F-150 south.

Law enforcement officials noted that Duensing and Smith met on the road in a head-on collision.

Emergency officials said Duensing, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, was taken to the hospital Western Missouri Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Smith, who was wearing his seat belt, escaped the crash without injury.

Investigation shows that both vehicles were totaled in the collision. No further information has been released.