Two St. Joseph residents were killed and a third from St. Joseph was injured when a car hit a tree at Winston Friday afternoon.
The driver, 21-year old Brent Murphy, and a passenger, 37-year old Nicole Burleson, were pronounced dead at the scene. Another passenger, 25-year old Devin Royle, was flown by medical helicopter to Truman Medical Center in Kansas City with serious injuries.
The car was northbound on Highway 69 when it went off the road and hit the tree. The patrol said none of the three occupants were wearing seatbelts. The patrol reported the vehicle had been pursued by a trooper, but the trooper had radioed he was ending the pursuit because the car would be traveling inside the Winston city limits. The trooper witnessed the accident after he ended the pursuit.
A report was received about a domestic violence incident occurring inside the vehicle while it was traveling on Interstate 35 in the area and the pursuit began after the vehicle was found to be traveling over the speed limit. The car left Interstate 35 and went northbound on Highway 69 into Winston where it went off the road and hit a tree.
21-year old Brent Murphy and 37-year old Nicole Burleson are the first two traffic fatalities this year in Daviess County.
