Missouri man killed in collision on U.S. 400 near Leon

A 49-year-old Missouri man died Tuesday night after his Ford van collided head-on with a semi on U.S. 400 near Leon, authorities said.

Larry Childers of Springfield, Mo., was driving east on U.S. 400 when he tried to pass another vehicle and collided with the westbound semi shortly before 6 p.m.about 1.5 miles west of Leon, Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet said.

According to a witness, Childers “was passing in a no-passing zone, even passing on the shoulder,” Herzet said. “It sounds like he was driving pretty recklessly.”

Childers was taken by air ambulance to Wesley Medical Center, where he died at 7:20 p.m.

The two occupants of the semi, a 36-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman, were not injured. They both live in Brawley, Calif., Herzet said.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Missouri man killed in collision on U.S. 400 near Leon."