Emergency personnel responded shortly before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to a fatal two-vehicle head-on crash on Bluff Road between Bottom and Steppig roads in Columbia.

One of the vehicles caught fire following the collision, which the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department initially described as “very serious.”

Bluff Road was closed to traffic for a few hours in that area as public safety responders worked the crash scene. The roadway was reopened by 9:20 p.m.

The MCSD said a 2005 Buick Rendezvous SUV driven by a 21-year-old male from Millstadt was traveling north on Bluff Road and attempted to pass another northbound vehicle, entering the southbound lane and striking a 2021 Honda Accord driven by a 61-year-old Waterloo woman.

The woman, identified by Monroe County Coroner Bob Hill as Kathleen Francescon, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The male was transported by Monroe County EMS to a St. Louis area hospital, where he was treated for injuries and later released.

Hill said both vehicles “made an evasive move toward the field on the west side of the road. Unfortunately, both vehicles made impact head-on in the field.”

Francescon was wearing a seat belt, Hill said.

Arrangements for Francescon are pending at Quernheim Funeral Home in Waterloo.