Republic's Jordan charged with killing three in crash

Charges result from January alleged drunk driving, wrong-way collision on Springfield freeway

A Republic man has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder following a crash in January that killed three. The suspect, Steven Jordan, is also facing three counts of DWI resulting in death and other related charges, bringing the count to 12 total.

On Jan. 20, Jordan was driving in his white Dodge pickup truck on the wrong side of James River Freeway at approximately 1 a.m. near West Bypass in Springfield. He then reportedly struck a Ford Expedition head-on killing three of the passengers inside. The passengers, of which there were eight, were making their way from Texas to St. Robert in order to attend a funeral. Other passengers in the Expedition were taken to the hospital to be treated for major injuries.

A sheriff's deputy obtained a warrant to take a blood sample from Jordan after the accident. Jordan was intoxicated at a blood alcohol level over .200 percent which likely led to his erratic driving. The legal limit for operating a motor vehicle in Missouri is set at .08 percent. Authorities noticed that Jordan smelled strongly of alcohol and had an empty beer bottle in his car. Jordan admitted to the police that he had been drinking that night and was intoxicated but reports say that he may have been on other drugs as well. A warrant was not issued for his arrest until the later days of June and was not served until July 5. Jordan has four convictions prior to the incident, taking place in the 1970's and 1980's.

Jordan is currently being held without bond after his six-and-a-half months of freedom following the incident. The reason for delay on the filing of the charges is unknown. He is currently being held without bond and has pled not guilty to all 12 charges. Jordan was arraigned on July 6 and has a bond hearing set for July 12.