COLUMBIA, MO — A crash involving a truck and a sedan shut down part of southbound U.S. 63 near Discovery Parkway Thursday afternoon, according to the Columbia Fire Department. The collision happened just before 3 p.m. and involved a black sedan that struck the side of a large truck. The sedan ended up in the highway median near the wires that divide the lanes. Emergency crews responded quickly, and a KOMU 8 reporter saw a heavy first-responder presence at the scene shortly before 3 p.m.
Scene And Traffic Impact
About nine emergency vehicles were visible at the crash site around 2:55 p.m., according to the reporter on scene. Crews closed the left lane of the highway while they worked the incident, which forced traffic to move through the right lane. That created a backup in the area as drivers slowed to get past the collision. The scene remained active for a short time while responders assessed the damage and cleared the roadway. The Fire Department’s post included a photo showing the sedan pressed into the truck and resting near the median barrier.
Tow Truck Clears Median
A tow truck later removed the sedan from the median, allowing the blocked area to be cleared. The crash had disrupted traffic during the busy afternoon period, but the highway reopened as crews finished their work. By just before 3:30 p.m., all emergency vehicles had left the scene. The response suggests the incident was handled within a relatively short window after the initial call. No additional details were immediately released about the vehicles involved or the conditions that led to the collision.
Injury Status Unknown
It was not immediately clear whether anyone was hurt in the crash. The Columbia Fire Department did not say in the social media post whether the driver or anyone else needed medical treatment. The available information focused on the location of the wreck, the traffic restriction, and the response from emergency crews. For drivers in the area, the main effect was a temporary slowdown on southbound U.S. 63 near Discovery Parkway. Officials had not provided more information by the time the scene was cleared.
What Officials Reported
The account of the crash came from a Columbia Fire Department Facebook post, along with observations from a KOMU 8 reporter who was at the scene. The photo shared by firefighters showed the sedan against the truck and the median wires in the center of the roadway. That visual matched what responders found when they arrived on the highway. No further update on the cause of the crash was included in the post, and no timeline was given for any later investigation. For now, the incident is being described as a brief but disruptive afternoon wreck on a major Columbia roadway.
