A St Joseph woman escaped with minor injuries after falling asleep at the wheel last night.

The Missouri Highway Patrol says 28-year-old Amber Walker fell asleep while driving south on US-169 near Union Star around 8:30 pm.  It happened at the intersection of US-169 and Route M two miles south of Union Star.

Her 2003 Ford Escape ran off the road and struck a fence, then went back onto the roadway and off into a ditch on the other side of the road where the vehicle caught fire.

Walker was taken to Heartland for treatment.