A 21-year-old Festus man and a 37-year-old Imperial man were seriously hurt Friday morning (March 1) after they crashed a stolen pickup on I-55 south of Festus during a police pursuit, authorities reported.
The 21-year-old was driving the pickup, and the 37-year-old was a passenger in the truck, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
The pickup, a 1995 Ford F-150, reportedly was stolen about 6 a.m. from a location at Maple Street and Business 21 in Hillsboro, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
At about 11 a.m., a Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted the stolen vehicle and began pursuing it, Bissell said.
“Our deputy was westbound on Hwy. A when he saw the vehicle eastbound on A,” Bissell said. “He changed direction and pursued it, ended up beside the vehicle. The deputy continued pursuing to (I-55) southbound. (The driver) made some kind of sharp turn onto northbound 61-67.”
The deputy could not make the turn at that point and the Missouri State Highway Patrol continued the pursuit, said Cpl. Juston Wheetley of the highway patrol.
The pickup ended up back on southbound I-55, and at 11:13 a.m. near mile marker 172.4 south of Festus, it ran off the right side of the interstate and struck a tree, the patrol report said.
Both men were transported by Joachim-Plattin Ambulance, with the 21-year-old taken to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County, and the 37-year-old to Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur, the report said.
Information about their conditions was not available this morning (March 2).
Both men were wearing seat belts, the patrol reported.
The pickup was totaled, the report said.
Both southbound lanes on I-55 near mile marker 172 were closed after the crash.
“About 12:30 p.m., they opened one lane of southbound 55,” Wheetley said.