Police identify 3 victims in a deadly wrong-way crash in Springfield, Mo. on Friday morning

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Police identified victims of a deadly wrong-way crash on Friday morning in Springfield.

Sharon Farmer, 69, of Pittsburg, Texas, Ukena Farmer, 45, of Dallas, Texas, and Stephen Figgins, 61, of Missouri City, Texas, died in the crash.

Police responded to a call regarding a driver, Steven Jordan, 65, of Republic, Mo., going westbound in the eastbound lanes of James River Freeway near National Avenue around 1 a.m. His pickup truck hit the victims’ Ford Expedition head-on near West Bypass. Police believe intoxication was a factor in the crash.

Police say three others inside the Expedition suffered critical injuries. Jordan suffered injuries, too.

The investigation is ongoing as to the circumstances involved in the crash. Anyone with any information about the crash is encouraged to contact the Springfield Police Department.

This was Springfield’s third fatal motor vehicle crash in 2023, leading to five deaths.

Bruce Kennedy and Peter Molloy said they want signs to stop wrong-way drivers.

“Can we come up with a method, lasers or detectors to detect a vehicle going in the wrong direction?” said Molloy. “At that point, we could possibly alert the driver.”

“A light should definitely reflect if there’s oncoming traffic or something of that effect,” said Kennedy.

There are Wrong-Way Driver systems, but they can be pricey.

Molloy said he has dealt with wrong-way drivers.

“I was like astonished at first. I realized who this person really is in the wrong lane,” said Molloy. “It was scary. I was glad there were two lanes. Otherwise, I would have had to get off the road.”

Molloy said the deaths could have been avoided.

“You can use everything, all the tools we can,” said Molloy. “We have incredible technology. We need to start using it. Do something because tragedies like these it’s just too much to bear.”

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