Two separate car accidents in Cherokee County yesterday resulted in two people with injuries and one fatality.

The first accident was a single-vehicle crash that occurred on Scammon Road about 5 miles southeast of Weir. Around 7:30 am, 51-year-old Brittany Beckner of Pittsburg swerved to avoid several deer in the roadway, causing her vehicle to enter the ditch and overturn. Beckner sustained minor injuries.

The second accident happened just before noon at the junction of US-400 and K-26, just east of Baxter Springs. 79-year-old Joseph Reed of Vinita, OK, failed to yield to oncoming traffic at the junction. His 2007 VW Jetta was struck on the driver's side by an oncoming tow truck. Reed suffered fatal injuries. A passenger in the Jetta – 73-year-old Cynthia Conrad of Miami, OK, sustained serious injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital in Joplin. The driver of the tow truck was uninjured.