A 31-year-old Pacific man was arrested after he reportedly hit a woman with a pickup, leaving her with a broken arm and then fleeing the scene of the accident. A 36-year-old St. Louis man also was arrested for allegedly assaulting the Pacific man before the accident, which occurred at the St. Louis West Historic Route 66 KOA Holiday campground, Eureka Police reported.
Officers were called at about 1:10 a.m. Oct. 3 to the campground, 18475 Hwy. 66, because of a fight in progress. When they arrived, the St. Louis man and the woman, whose age was not included in the report, were standing at a camp site near a tent that was partially collapsed and had tire tracks on it, the report said.
The couple told officers they had invited the Pacific man to their campsite after meeting him the previous evening at a Eureka restaurant. They said while hanging out, the Pacific man started arguing with the woman and the St. Louis man physically intervened, according to the report.
After the fight, the couple said the Pacific man got into a 2006 Ford pickup and started driving around the campground. The woman said she went out to the street to wave him down, but he hit her with the pickup, Eureka Police reported.
The woman told the officers she was four months pregnant, and Eureka Fire Protection District personnel said they believed her left arm was broken. The woman refused to be taken to the hospital and told officials she would drive herself to SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, the report said.
During questioning, the Pacific man told Eureka Police he had tried to intervene when the couple was arguing, and the St. Louis man attacked him. The Pacific man also said the St. Louis man hit him with a fallen tree branch, tackled him to the ground and choked him with the branch. The Pacific had cuts on his neck and chest, police reported.
The Pacific man said he got into his pickup after he got away from the St. Louis man. The Pacific man also said he was disoriented and struggled to find the exit, the report said.
The Pacific man said after he drove around for a while, he came upon the couple standing on the road, blocking his path to leave. He said the St. Louis man walked over to the driver’s side of the pickup and struck him several times in the head through an open window before he could drive away, according to the report.
The Pacific man said he reported the incident to the Pacific Police after he got home. Eureka Police officers arrested the Pacific man and took him to the Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application for a warrant.
Eureka Police seek charges through the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office against the Pacific man for leaving the scene of an accident and against the St. Louis man for assault, Lt. Michael Werges said.