Two killed in head-on collision

ACORN RIDGE -- Two Bonne Terre residents died as a result of an accident while they were riding their motorcycle near Acorn Ridge on Saturday.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred at 12:50 p.m. on Route J, two miles west of Acorn Ridge. A westbound car driven by Jason M. Merrill, 21, of Wappapello, crossed the center line and struck head on an eastbound motorcycle driven by Peter H. Aubuchon, 52, of Bonne Terre.

Aubuchon and his passenger, Susan G. Aubuchon, 50, also of Bonne Terre, were ejected and pronounced dead at the scene by Stoddard County Coroner Morgan Sifford.

Merrill and his passenger, Jessica D. Hendry, 20, of Dudley, sustained serious injuries. Merrill was transported by ambulance to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Hendry was transported by Air Evac to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.