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ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) - A fatal crash involving three vehicles and a semi truck on southbound I-270 just south of Clayton happened at around 8:40 a.m.

Southbound lanes of the highway were closed for over six hours. The highway reopened at around 3pm.

A van pulling a trailer lost control while driving southbound on I-270. The van crossed lanes, first hitting a tow truck, then a passenger car, forcing it into the median. A semi tractor-trailer tried to avoid the accident but was unable to.

The van that spurred the accident caught fire. This caused the semi truck, carrying a payload of frozen meat, to catch fire.

There were four vehicles and four people involved in the accident. Two people were taken to the hospital in serious condition. One person is dead. The driver of the tow truck was unharmed.

"This is a very tragic chain of events. By one vehicle losing control, all this happened. We are asking people to avoid the area. Reroute your drive. This is going to be closed down for quite some time," said Corporal Wheatley with the Missouri Highway Patrol.

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Cleared: EMERGENCY VEHICLES I-64 WB @ TO I-270 SB CLEARED AT 3:03 PM (St Louis,MO) — MoDOT STL Traffic (@StLouisTraffic) January 17, 2017

Update: NO CHANGE EMERGENCY VEHICLES I-270 NB @ BEFORE I-64 4 LEFT LANES CLOSED (St Louis,MO) — MoDOT STL Traffic (@StLouisTraffic) January 17, 2017

Fatal accident on southbound 270 just south of Clayton Rd. Only one lane open in each direction. pic.twitter.com/ljwpTpifcx — SkyFOX Helicopter (@SkyFOXSTL) January 17, 2017

ALERT: Expext lane closures to remain in place for some time. Both NB & SB 270 down to one lane. #stltraffic pic.twitter.com/LbHXvi4UFz — West County EMS & Fire (@WESTCOUNTYFIRE) January 17, 2017

Here is a first-person view of the semi-truck fire causing a huge delay on I-270 & Manchester this morning, thanks Liz Kenner for the video pic.twitter.com/kQ1fp5JFxa — KMOX St. Louis News (@kmoxnews) January 17, 2017

Update: EMERGENCY VEHICLES I-270 NB @ BEFORE I-64 4 LEFT LANES CLOSED (St Louis,MO) — MoDOT STL Traffic (@StLouisTraffic) January 17, 2017

BREAKING: Crews on scene of vehicle accident involving a semi on SB 270 South of Clayton. #stltraffic — West County EMS & Fire (@WESTCOUNTYFIRE) January 17, 2017

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