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UPDATE: Five people are dead following a single-vehicle accident on I-70 near Vandalia, IL.

The Vandalia Leader-Union reports the fatalities. Police say a van drove off the highway and flipped over. There were at least 14 passengers on board. Some of the people sustained serious injuries and are on their way to St. Louis hospitals.

Emergency crews have closed eastbound 70 near the accident.

15-thousand people are converging on the campus of Washington University as they begin their 152nd year of celebrating graduates. And the school warns motorists you might want to take another route if you're commute takes you near Forest Park.

 

Traffic around the university will be very heavy Friday morning due to the university’s annual Commencement ceremony, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Traffic backups should be anticipated on streets near the university, especially Forsyth, Big Bend, Forest Park Parkway and Skinker. 

The university will award 2,873 degrees to 2,752 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on six individuals.  

 Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J., will deliver the 2013 Commencement address. During the ceremony, Booker, who is credited with helping revitalize New Jersey’s largest city with his hands-on and innovative approach, also will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Washington University’s five other honorary degree recipients and their degrees are:

Marilyn Fox, St. Louis civic leader, philanthropist and community volunteer, doctor of humanities;

Martin L. Mathews, president, CEO and co-founder of Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club, doctor of humanities;

Juhani Pallasmaa, a Finnish architect, educator and critic and a leading international figure in contemporary architecture, design and artistic culture, doctor of art and architecture;

Peter Rosen (MD ’60), one of the international leaders in the field of emergency medicine and one of the pioneers and founding fathers of the specialty, doctor of science;

and Howard Wood (BSBA ’61), co-founder of two of the nation’s most successful telecommunications companies: Charter Communications Inc. and Cequel III LLC, doctor of laws.

 

 

An accident has closed all lanes of EB I-270 at the Chair of Rocks bridge this afternoon.

A listener called in to say the accident involves at least three vehicles, including a semi-truck. Traffic is being directed onto Riverview drive to detour around the accident.

No word on any injuries from the accident.

MoDOT starts work Tuesday that will close a lane on 370 and 70 for up to a month.

Crews will close left lane of westbound Route 370 between the Salt River Road exit and westbound I-70 on May 14. Then on Wednesday crews will close the left lane of eastbound Route 370 from eastbound I-70 to just east of the north outer road flyover.  

The lane closures are expected to last for about a month as part of the Mid Rivers Mall Drive project.

MoDOT starts work Tuesday that will close a lane on 370 and 70 for up to a month.

Crews will close left lane of westbound Route 370 between the Salt River Road exit and westbound I-70 on May 14. Then on Wednesday crews will close the left lane of eastbound Route 370 from eastbound I-70 to just east of the north outer road flyover.  

The lane closures are expected to last for about a month as part of the Mid Rivers Mall Drive project.

A St. Charles County man faces over three decades in prison for allegedly causing an accident that took the life of an unborn baby.

Prosecutors say Paul Murphy was under the influence of benzodiazepine--an anxiety and insomnia medication--when he hit the car carrying a pregnant woman on March 16. The woman was 19 weeks pregnant when the accident happened and she gave birth to a still born baby.

If convicted on all three counts of assault he faces, Murphy could spend 36 years behind bars.

 

A Franklin, Illinois man is dead after a fiery crash in Randolph County Tuesday afternoon.

Illinois State Police say 55 year old Mickey Clayton was killed when propane truck he was driving rear-ended a coal truck and caught fire. The accident happened about 2:30 p.m. along County Line Road near Blackstump Road, just east of Steelville.

Firefighters had begun to put the fire out when a propane leak sent them ducking for cover. Moments later, an explosion sent a fireball more than 100 feet into the air. It took about 40 firefighters another hour to get the fire out.

The driver of the coal truck wasn't hurt.

The cause of the crash is still being investigated.

Traffic is moving on Westbound Interstate 64 after an accident closed the road just past Kingshighway.

Several vehicles were involved in an accident and emergency crews shut down all westbound lanes.

Police are turning around drivers waiting in the westbound lanes and directing them to exit at Kingshighway.

A tractor-trailer fire caused delays for drivers along Interstate 44 in the City of St. Louis overnight.

Crews had to closed eastbound I-44 at Vandeventer just before midnight while emergency crews worked to contain it. The right two lanes reopened about 12:30 a.m. but the left lane remained closed.

It's not clear what sparked the fire, but the tractor and trailer appear to be total losses. Both have burned down to their metal frames.

There's no word of any injuries.

Several road and highway projects are set to begin this week along three heavily traveled areas.

MoDOT will close lanes on the Poplar Street Bridge this  morning starting at nine until 2:30 in the afternoon. One lane in each direction will be closed weekdays for the next three weeks for crews to inspect the bridge.

In St. Charles County, traffic along Interstate 64 will be slowed or stopped for periods of time this week so crews can blast rock near the Boone Bridge.  Officials will help stop traffic at the designated times starting Tuesday. Blasting times will vary each day. Traffic is expected to be stopped for a maximum of ten minutes.

Close by, Olive street road will be closing between Centaur and Chesterfield Airport Road.  St. Louis County tells KTRS News, Centaur will be closed for two weeks as a contractor installs a 90 foot-long storm drainage system near construction of one of two new outlet malls.  

Drivers are asked to use the southern routes of Eatherton, Wildhorse Creek Road, Long Road and Chesterfield Airport Road.

Look for electronic message boards which will list any changes.