Candlelight vigil scheduled for teen killed in Moniteau County crash

Route C was closed east of Missouri 87 for more than 2 hours Wednesday morning due to a fatal wreck. (MoDOT map)
Route C was closed east of Missouri 87 for more than 2 hours Wednesday morning due to a fatal wreck. (MoDOT map)

The communities of High Point and Russellville are mourning the death of a 16-year-old Russellville girl who died in a Wednesday morning collision.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. today at High Point School for Elizabeth A. Eidson, of Russellville.

Eidson was a student at Russellville High School; her father is a science teacher at High Point, where she attended school through eighth grade.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reported the 16-year-old was driving a car eastbound around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday on Route C, one mile east of Missouri 87, when she rear-ended a trash truck driven by Jeffery D. Moad, 53, of Eugene. The trash truck was stopped in the eastbound lane.

After impact, the car struck a pedestrian as it traveled off the right side of the roadway, the patrol reported. The pedestrian was identified as Kory A. King, 24, of Jefferson City, who was a worker associated with the trash truck.

King received moderate injuries and was transported by ambulance to St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City. The Moniteau County coroner pronounced Eidson dead at the scene.

After the crash, Route C was closed east of High Point between Missouri 87 and Route T for more than two hours, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.

A Russellville school spokeswoman said grief counselors were available to students who wished to take advantage of their services in reaction to the fatality.

Editor's note: This article updates and expands upon earlier coverage.