JEFFERSON COUNTY — 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, 53-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.

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 passenger 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 vision of both drivers.

One of the occupant’s cell phones was used to call 9-1-1. 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 a State Police Accident Reconstructionist.