A 21-year-old University of Evansville student was killed Saturday afternoon when a collision on Interstate 44 outside St. Louis sent his vehicle into the path of an oncoming truck, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Patrick J. Blandford was pronounced dead shortly after 1:30 p.m. at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, about an hour after the crash.
Blandford was reportedly driving a Ford Focus westbound on Interstate 44 near Allenton, Mo., when a Buick Skylark changed lanes and hit the rear of his vehicle.
That sent Blandford's car into an adjacent lane, where an oncoming tractor-trailer collided with the driver side of his car.
UE spokeswoman Marsha Jackson said officials learned of the accident during Saturday's commencement exercises. Blandford is the son of Dick Blandford, a professor and chair of UE's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
"We're horribly sad that it happened," Jackson said. "It's a tragic accident."
Blandford is a 2004 graduate of Evansville's Signature School, where he was one of five students to earn perfect 4.0 grade-point averages and qualify as valedictorian, according to a May 24, 2004, Courier & Press report.
A passenger in Blandford's car, 21-year-old Kourtney R. Matthews of Fenton, Mo., suffered serious injuries and was also transported to the hospital, the report said.
She was being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit, where she was listed in critical condition Saturday night.
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