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Gospel great Dottie Rambo, 74, died in a bus crash near Springfield, Mo., early Sunday morning, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report.

The bus driver, Ronnie Meadows, is in serious condition and Ms. Rambo s manager, Larry Ferguson, and his wife and his two children, are also hospitalized in Springfield, Mo., the report says.

Chris Barnes, 22, Ms. Rambo s Web master and Mr. Ferguson s assistant, was in serious condition.

Few details were available, but there were reports that overnight storms and high winds caused the 1997 Prevost bus to crash into a guard rail and an embankment around 2:20 a.m. on I-44, two miles east of Mt. Vernon, Mo.

Ms. Rambo was reportedly traveling from Springfield, Mo., to Texas when the crash occured.

Ms. Rambo was a prolific writer and singer whose hits include

We Shall Behold Him,

Holy Spirit Thou Art Welcome (In The Place),

I Go To The Rock, and

Sheltered In The Arms Of God.

Elvis Presley, Barbara Mandrell, Carol Channing, Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton are among those who have recorded Ms. Rambo s songs.

As a young girl, Ms. Rambo fell in love with country music while listening to the Grand Ole Opry in her Morganfield, Ky., home. She started writing songs at age 8, and by age 10, Ms. Rambo was singing covers of country songs on a local radio station.

By age 12, she became a born-again Christian, a decision her dad abhorred. He ended up kicking her out of the house, and Ms. Rambo started her Christian career.

Ms. Rambo met Buck Rambo at age 16 and they married soon after, forming a gospel trio that would launch a 50+ years career in Christian music.

Barbara Mandrell inducted Ms. Rambo into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame late last year, only the 10th woman to enter the hall.