WILLMATHSVILLE, Mo.- A Memphis woman escaped serious injury when the bridge she was driving across collapsed.

Lisa Doster told KMEM News that she was traveling home from Columbia on Route A just west of Willmathsville around 4pm Sunday afternoon in her Vollkswagon SUV when the incident occurred.  Doster said that as she entered the bridge she began to feel, what she described in her words, as “a roller-coaster effect”.  She said that as she continued to cross the bridge, she felt her vehicle seemingly float then fall, before launching upward before landing hard on the pavement. 

She said that after talking to a trooper who responded to the scene, they believe that the bridge began to give way underneath her car as she entered the bridge, then as she got close to the eastern end of the bridge, the middle gave out, causing her to feel the floating sensation momentarily.  Then her SUV returned to the pavement and was essentially launched into the air as it vaulted over the third break that occurred on the eastern end of the bridge just as she got to it.  Doster reported her SUV being launched airborne as she exited the bridge before landing hard on the pavement beyond the bridge.  She reported nearly losing control of her vehicle upon landing but was fortunate to save it.

A spokesman for MoDOT said Sunday evening that they are looking into the incident.

The bridge just west of Willmathsville on Route A collapsed just as a Memphis woman was crossing it.

(Top photo courtesy of Ryan Burkholder.  Center and bottom photo courtesy of Lisa Doster)

Video Courtesy Lisa Doster

HANNIBAL, Mo.- Weather permitting, May 13, Scotland County Route T is scheduled to close over North Fork Middle Fabius River, 1.9 miles west of Missouri Route 15 near Bible Grove, as work begins on a bridge rehabilitation project. Work at this location is estimated to be completed by mid-Summer. All work is weather dependent and schedules are subject to change.

Included in this contract is an additional bridge rehabilitation project, scheduled to begin later summer,  located on Route A over BNSF Railroad, 0.3 mile east of Route M near Rutledge.

Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc. was awarded the contract in earlier this year in the amount of $767,287.

For more information on this and other projects in your area, please contact MoDOT’s Customer Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK MODOT (275-6636). Work with us in the work zone! Please remember to obey all work zone signs and personnel. With an increased number of highway work zones in Missouri, we urge all drivers to pay attention every second while driving, especially through a work zone. Be informed of your route by checking the MoDOT Traveler Information Map before you travel.

KIRKSVILLE, Mo.- A 22-year-old Iowa man was arrested in Kirksville in the early hours of April 26, 2024, for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Assault in the 1st Degree, Armed Criminal Action, and several other charges.

At about 1:10 am, officers were dispatched near the area of McPherson Street and Franklin Street for a public nuisance. As the officers approached the area, they heard and saw the flashes of gunshots in the vicinity of a group of four to five people. The gunman fled on foot, and after making sure there were no injuries, officers quickly apprehended the suspect, who was identified as Jackson Phillips, 22, of Iowa. Officers also recovered the firearm and shell casings from the area. Phillips is currently being held at the Adair County Detention Center.

At this time, there is no current threat to the public and the case remains under investigation.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Anyone with information about this incident, or any suspicious activity is encouraged to contact the Kirksville Police Department at 660.785.6945, Central Dispatch at 660.665.5621, Adair County Sheriff’s Office at 660.665.4600, anonymously at 660.627.BUST (2878), or email police@kirksvillecity.com.

Jackson Phillips, 22, of Iowa, was arrested on weapons related charges by Kirksville Police

(Photo courtesy Kirksville Police Department)

The City of Kirksville has recognized Lt. Chelsea Burkhiser for five years of service with the City.

Burkhiser began with the Kirksville Fire Department on March 18, 2019. She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on July 24, 2023.

Burkhiser has completed Firefighter I and Firefighter II certifications, as well as for Emergency Medical Technicians-Basic. Burkhiser is also a Rescue Technician, Fire Service Instructor I and Live Fire Instructor.

The City of Kirksville thanks Burkhiser for her service to the people of Kirksville.

Chelsea Burkhiser was recognized for 5 years of service with the City of Kirksville

(Photo courtesy City of Kirksville)

MEMPHIS, Mo.-  A Scotland County man is behind bars after allegedly threatening a family member.

Forty-five year old Lewis D. Martin of Memphis was arrested at 10:25 pm Tuesday night at his home by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.  He is charged with a class B felony of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, a class E felony of 1^st Degree Stalking and a misdemeanor count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon.

According to court documents, Master Seargent Doug Siegfried with the Missouri State Highway Patrol was contacted by Martin’s brother to report that Lewis Martin was sending death threats via text message to another family member.  He additionally reported that Martin was driving past the family member’s residence on Route H in Scotland County on a dirt bike and firing a firearm in an intimidating manner.

After confirming the report with the victim, Troopers went to the Lewis Martin residence and took him into custody.  At the time of the arrest, a 9 mm pistol was found on Martin’s hip under his shirt.  Martin was transported to the Scotland County Sheriff’s Department where he later confessed to driving to the family member’s house and unloading the firearm in the air.  Troopers recovered three 9-mm shell casings at the scene in front of the residence.  A neighbor described hearing three gun shots as well as witnessing the motorcycle drive past his house shortly after hearing the gun shots.

Martin is being held in the Scotland County Jail on $100,000 cash-only bond.  He was scheduled to appear in court for a bond-reduction hearing on Thursday morning.

Forty-five year old Lewis D. Martin of Memphis is charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for a firearms-related incident

(Photo courtesy Scotland County Sheriff's Department)

MEMPHIS, Mo.- A Memphis bank was the target of a successful ATM robbery early Saturday morning.

Captain Bill Holland with the Memphis Police Department told KMEM News that around 4:34 am Saturday, April 20th at least three suspects wearing masks and gloves were caught on security camera footage breaking into the ATM machine on the east end of the Memphis branch of Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri. 

The suspects accomplished the break-in by hooking a log chain to the ATM and using a stolen pickup truck to then jerk the chain and force the ATM vault open.  The pickup was a Ford F250 commercial vehicle stolen from a private residence in Albia, Iowa earlier that same morning.

Captain Holland stated that from the time the perpetrators struck to the time they departed the scene, less than five minutes had elapsed.  They were clear of the scene within one minute of the security alarm sounding.  He said that the truck was abandoned at the scene and that the suspects fled in a different vehicle.

Captain Holland further said that an undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the ATM.  The canisters that dispense the bills were found discarded and empty near the North Fork of the North Fabius River, located between Highway 15 South and the west edge of Memphis.

There has been a recent rash of similar ATM robbery incidents throughout the listening area.  On Wednesday, April 10^th, there was an attempted break-in of the ATM at the Palmyra branch of Exchange Bank of Northeast Missouri using a very similar M.O.  In that incident, Palmyra Police officers responded to a report of suspicious activity to find a commercial pickup truck that had been stolen earlier from a business in Palmyra.  The truck was high-centered on a curb with chains and tow hooks attached to the ATM.  The engine was running and the passenger door was open.  Witnesses stated they observed two male suspects fleeing the scene.  They are believed to have escaped in an unknown SUV going northbound on Highway 61.

In yet another incident, an ATM at Meridian Credit Union in Ottumwa was the target of an attempted break-in.  The Ottumwa Police Department received a report of someone trying to break into that machine on Friday, April 19^th, at 5:43 am.  Again, the suspects had used a truck and chains to attempt to pull open the ATM vault door.  That truck was also stolen, taken from an Oskaloosa hotel parking lot in the overnight hours prior to the attempted break-in.  The suspects were later pulled over in a different vehicle fleeing the scene in Ottumwa.  They were arrested and booked into the Wapello County Jail.  The three suspects arrested were all from Texas and were fleeing in a vehicle that had been rented in Texas.

Captain Holland said that authorities are unsure if the incidents are related in any way, but that there are several striking similarities.  He further encourages businesses and individuals to invest in high-quality security cameras, as they prove invaluable in investigations such as these.