Wrong Way Drunk Driver Smashes into Plato Teens

U.S. Highway 60 at Willow Springs was impassable for several hours this morning when an intoxicated driver headed westbound crossed into the eastbound lanes of traffic. Randy Roberts, 53, West Plains, struck a Jeep Wrangler head on. The Jeep was driven by 19-year-old Alyssa Fulmer of Plato. Two of her passengers were minors, both aged 17. The third passenger, Jack Morrison, 29, of Lynchburg, sustained minor injuries and was taken from the scene in a private vehicle. 

At the request of law enforcement, MODOT representatives shut down that section of Highway 60 until the accident could be cleared. 

The Plato teens were badly injured. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol’s crash report, the driver and the juvenile male were transported to Springfield hospitals by helicopter. The female minor in the Jeep was taken to Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains. 

Roberts was arrested at the scene on charges of felony driving while intoxicated, driving while revoked, four counts of felony second degree assault, and driving the wrong direction on a highway causing a crash. He was released for medical care and taken from the scene in an ambulance. 

Online court records show that Roberts pled guilty and was sentenced to three years probation on March 25, 2021 on a persistent DWI charge. 

The accident was not cleared until after 9:00 a.m.

As of the report time, formal charges are pending.