Emergency personnel responded about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday for an evening rush hour vehicle crash on Route 3 southbound near the Palmer Road exit in Columbia.

Traffic was snarled in that area as a result of the crash, which involved three vehicles.

The Columbia Fire Department responded for debris clean-up and traffic control, assisting Columbia police and EMS personnel.

Police said a gray 2023 Toyota Camry driven by Larhonda Jelks, 41, of St. Louis, was reported to have been in a hit-and-run incident at Olive Boulevard and I-270 in St. Louis and was driving recklessly on a flat tire into Columbia on Route 3 when it struck the rear of a GMC pickup driven by Timothy Hummel, 35, of Wentzille, with a 4-year-old passenger inside, which had slowed to backed-up traffic in the area. This collision resulted in the secondary striking of a 2025 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Andrew Baxter, 59, of Waterloo, which was traveling in front of the GMC.

The Toyota sedan veered off into a ditch and rolled multiple times following impact. Jelks was transported to Mercy Hospital South for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening. She was cited for failure to reduce speed and is under investigation for a possible DUI.