COLUMBIA — Four people were tragically killed earlier this week in a crash just north of Columbia on Highway 63. The head-on collision was caused by a driver going the wrong way.

The crash happened at around 7:30 pm on Monday when a car traveling south in the northbound lane collided with a sport utility vehicle. The SUV was carrying six passengers.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the car’s driver, 19-year-old Keith Sumner of Rocheport, died in the crash. The SUV’s driver, twenty-nine-year-old Jessica McKinlay, passenger 34-year-old Christopher McClain of Columbia and a 10-year-old girl were also killed. The other passengers in the SUV were children ages two, three and six and were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Patrol investigators said that the drivers of the two vehicles had their seatbelts on while the rest of the passengers did not have any restraints. Two of the unbuckled passengers were thrown from the SUV.

More information on the importance of seatbelt wearing can be found at the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s website.