LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. — According to officials, a man is dead after attempting to remove a deer from I-44.
Eastbound traffic along I-44 Friday morning halted for miles after two reported crashes around 5:30 a.m. near the Mt. Vernon exit (MM 48).
Missouri State Highway Patrol told us a vehicle that had hit a deer had a passenger get out to move it from the roadway. That’s when a male victim was struck by a passing tractor-trailer.
He was later pronounced deceased, MSHP said. The man’s identity has not been released, but officials said his family had just finished dropping off a child at college before heading back to Springfield-Branson National Airport…