Tristan J. McCoy-Bachofer, 20, of Bolivar has been charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly stealing an Antonia Fire Protection District SUV and crashing it in Arnold on July 14, court documents said.
On July 15, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged McCoy-Bachofer with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and second-degree burglary, both class D felonies, and second-degree property damage, a class B misdemeanor, according to court documents.
A class D felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and a class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in a jail and a fine of $1,000.
The theft happened about 9 a.m., after the man reportedly abandoned a vehicle near the intersection of Old Lemay Ferry Road and Old Hwy. M.
Then, the accident occurred about 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Hwy. 141 and Jeffco Boulevard in Arnold. Along with Antonia Fire’s 2016 Ford Expedition, a 2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, a 2011 Honda CRV and a 2016 Hyundai Elantra were involved in the accident, Arnold Police Lt. Wooldridge said.
Before the accident occurred, McCoy-Bachofer allegedly walked inside an open door at the fire district, got inside the SUV and drove through the engine room door, damaging it and the SUV, including knocking off the red lights from the top of the vehicle, Antonia Fire Chief Mike Arnhart said.
Arnold Police were notified about the stolen SUV at 9:18 a.m., and an officer spotted the Expedition on Old Lemay Ferry Road near Richardson Road at about 9:20 a.m., Wooldridge said.
The officer began to pursue the SUV but stopped the pursuit when the Expedition crossed into the wrong lane at Missouri State Road and Church Road. The SUV then turned onto Hwy. 141 before another Arnold Police officer attempted to pull over the vehicle. However, that officer also stopped pursing the SUV as it began speeding along the highway, Wooldridge said.
The driver allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Hwy. 141 and Jeffco Boulevard, and then the SUV hit the back, right side of an Eclipse Cross, which was driven by a 51-year-old St. Louis woman, sending the car airborne. The Eclipse overturned and landed in the northbound lanes of Jeffco Boulevard, hitting the front ends of the CRV and Elantra, Wooldridge said.
A 53-year-old New Orleans man was driving the CRV, and a 29-year-old Festus woman was driving the Elantra. No injuries were reported for those three drivers, Wooldridge said.
The Antonia Fire SUV, which is valued at about $40,000, along with the Eclipse, Elantra and CRV, were towed from the scene, authorities said.
Arnhart said the SUV was used for inspections and to transport firefighters to training events.
The district has another SUV the chief uses and a pickup the assistant chief uses. In addition, the district has three firetrucks, one tanker and a small rescue truck, Arnhart said.
He said the district is “making things work with (the vehicles) we have now.