(Madison County, MO) A man from Fredericktown, 80 year old Thomas R. Slinkard, is dead after he was involved in a fatal traffic accident Friday morning in Madison county. Highway Patrol reports show Slinkard was headed east on Highway 72, four miles east of Fredericktown, at about 7:30, when he lost control of his vehicle and it ran off the left side of the highway and crashed into an embankment throwing Slinkard out. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Slinkard was not wearing a seat belt when the wreck took place.