Passenger killed in I-55 crash near Cape Girardeau after vehicle strikes stopped semi

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) — One person died after a crash Saturday on Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau while traffic was stopped due to another accident.

According to the Cape Girardeau Police Department, the crash happened around 11:20 a.m. near mile marker 99.8. Officers were already at the scene of a separate crash near the 97 mile marker, where southbound traffic had been stopped.

Police said a 2026 Chevrolet Equinox traveling southbound failed to stop and rear-ended a 2020 Freightliner semi-truck pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with construction equipment.

The driver of the Equinox, Amy Berg, 64, of Stuttgart, Arkansas, was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Police said the passenger in the vehicle, Sandra Scherm, 87, of Stuttgart, Arkansas, died from her injuries. Investigators said she was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The driver of the semi-truck, Nuraly Alisherov, 29, of Schaumburg, Illinois, was not injured.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department’s reconstruction team is continuing to investigate the crash.