Four injured in single-car accident
The car collided with the curb and several boulders on the side of the road.
Published Oct. 24, 2006
A one-car accident injured four people early Friday morning in the 2500 block of Old 63.
According to a news release from the Columbia Police Department, the driver lost control of the vehicle and drove off the east side of the roadway at 1:13 a.m.
The car, a 2005 Cadillac, hit the curb and several boulders on the side of the road.
"We were in the car and we were driving down 63 towards Stadium, and the two cars in front of us stopped and we saw a person laying on the right side of the road," sophomore Savannah Duncan said.
At this point, the driver, MU freshman Robb Loran, pulled off the road, and got out of the car to find out what was going on.
Loran was the second person to arrive at the scene of the accident.
"When I got down there, there was one guy in the back seat, and it looked like the driver had flown the scene," Loran said. "There was a person laying on the side of the road; I wasn't sure if they were in the car or not."
Loran said the man was covered in blood, and he described him as "incoherent."
The three passengers in the car were identified as Brandon Oakes, Zachary Bramel and John Holmes.
None of the passengers were MU students.
Holmes, who was ejected from the vehicle, was taken to an area hospital and at press time was listed in serious condition.
Neither Oakes nor Bramel were taken to the hospital for their injuries from the crash.
The driver, John Hampton, turned himself into police and said he had panicked after the collision.
Columbia police Capt. Zim Schwartze said it is believed that alcohol and the speed of the car were contributing factors to the crash.
A woman at the scene began to help Holmes.
Loran then approached the car, and looked at the passenger-side back door, which was smashed in.
"The guy in the back seat had his seatbelt on, but his head was hanging," Loran said. "I went to the driver's side back door and opened the door, got his seatbelt off and got him out of the car." The remaining passenger was conscious, but seemed disoriented, Loran said.
Loran and another person at the scene helped the passenger out of the car and sat with him.
A third passenger was sitting on the ground farther away from the car.
Several people ran down the hill near The Reserve and Campus Lodge apartments and tried to keep one of the victims awake, Loran said.
Duncan and Loran left the scene of the accident after emergency response vehicles, including several police officers and an ambulance, arrived.
"The other guys didn't look to be hurt that bad," Loran said. "It just looked like he had the wind knocked out of him."
Hampton was charged with a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident, charges related to driving without insurance and driving on the wrong side of the road, Schwartze said.