JASPER COUNTY —Two people died in an accident just after 3p.m. Wednesday in Jasper County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Ford F250 driven by a 56-year-old Mount Vernon man was southbound on Interstate 49 one mile north of Jasper.
The pickup rear-ended a 2003 Toyota Corolla that was slowing to a near stop due to fact that the 30-year-old driver from Carthage was falling asleep.
Two passengers in the car, a 27-year-0ld man and 27-year-old woman, both from Carthage, were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to the county coroner's office. Mercy Ambulance transported the driver and a third passenger, a 33-year-old woman from Carthage to Mercy in Joplin. The pickup driver was not injured. The driver and occupants of the Toyota were not wearing seat belts, according to the MSHP.