An 88-year-old Republic man died following a traffic accident Labor Day morning in which he drove through a red light on West Sunshine Street at the James River Freeway, according to Springfield police.
Sterling Garton was driving a 2005 Ford F-150 east on Sunshine Street at about 10:52 a.m. Monday when he ran a red light and collided with a 2020 Ford Explorer driven by Ashley Plunkett, 29, of Republic.
Plunked had a greed light when she drove into the intersection to go west on Sunshine.
The collision pushed Garton’s pickup through a grassy median and into the westbound lanes of Sunshine, where the pickup hit a flatbed trailer attached to a Ford F-350 driven by Jordan Criss, 26, from Springfield.
Garton was transported to a Springfield hospital and later died.
The circumstances of the crash are under investigation. Anyone with information should contact Springfield police at 417-864-1810.
This was Springfield’s 18th motor vehicle fatality in 2023, according to Springfield Police Department data.
