DIX (WMIX) – A head-on collision between two side-by-sides late Friday night claimed the life of a rural Dix woman and sent three others to St. Louis hospitals for treatment.

According to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, 43-year-old Laura ‘Christi’ Burns was a passenger on one of the side-by-sides and was thrown from the vehicle in the collision. Burns, the owner of Christi’s Little Red Barn Restaurant in Wayne City, was declared dead at the scene.

The crash occurred around 11:45 p.m. on Rockcrusher Road just southwest of Dix. Both drivers were reportedly trapped in their vehicles and had to be extricated by Jefferson Fire.

Both were airlifted from the scene to St. Louis Hospitals for treatment. The passenger in the second vehicle got out on his own and was taken to SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon, but was later airlifted for treatment at a St. Louis hospital.

While the names of the passengers have not been released, a female was reportedly driving the side-by-side in which Burns was riding and Burns’ husband was the driver of the other vehicle.

Preliminary reports indicate the two side-by-sides were riding together when one pulled ahead of the other before turning around when the two vehicles crashed head-on. Dust blown up from the first vehicle reportedly blocked the drivers’ vision.

One of the occupant’s cell phones was used to call 911. First responders had to “ping” the phone’s location as all dispatchers could hear on the call was a woman screaming.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is handling the crash with the assistance of an Illinois State Police Accident Reconstructionist.