Angela Smith

A 1999 Dodge Dakota wrapped around a tree after sliding off of Missouri Route H near Frazier, Mo. A St. Joseph man died in the accident.

FRAZIER, Mo. — A 42-year-old St. Joseph man died early Thursday morning in a one-vehicle accident on Missouri Route H about one mile east of Frazier and three miles west of Gower.

Scott E. Martin was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 6:45 a.m. Thursday.

The accident happened between midnight and 12:30 a.m. Thursday, said Cpl. Corey Root, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper investigating the accident.

Mr. Martin’s pickup was located in the front yard of an earth-contact home. The homeowner said she heard a noise about the time of the accident that sounded like thunder, he said.

The homeowner didn’t know about the wreck until she walked outside this morning, the patrol said.

The wreck happened as his 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup was traveling west on Route H, crested a hill and drove off the right side of the asphalt, Mr. Root said. Mr. Martin over-corrected and the pickup ran off the south side of the road crossing a ditch, glancing off a tree and wiping out a fence post. The pickup continued to travel sideways across the grass to the southwest. Then the pickup’s passenger door slammed into a tree, Mr. Root said.

The force of the blow bent the pickup in half around the tree as it ejected the tailgate, which flew about 90 feet before coming to rest.

“I’ve only seen one accident worse than this one,” Mr. Root said.

The trooper said speed was a factor but declined to estimate how fast the Dodge had been traveling at the time of the accident.

Mr. Martin was found in the cab and hadn’t been wearing a seat belt.

This is the third fatality this month and the 29th for the year in the Troop H district, which covers Northwest Missouri.

Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.co