A routine traffic accident on northbound I-55 in Pevely on Sept. 8 turned into an arrest for suspected cocaine possession.
A 23-year-old woman from Jackson ran her 2012 Mercedes Benz into the rear of a 2006 GMC Envoy driven by a 35-year-old Herculaneum man, Pevely Police reported.
The crash occurred at 6:24 p.m. at mile marker 180.4.
Pevely Patrolman Dean Rodgers worked the accident and observed a purse in the Mercedes with a $100 bill sticking out of it and a plastic bag that contained a white powder.
“He seized the purse and the bag and did a field test that tested positive for cocaine,” Pevely Police Chief Ron Weeks said.
The woman was transported by Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District to Mercy Jefferson Hospital in Crystal City with minor injuries, the report said. The other driver was not injured.
The powder will be sent to a crime lab for further analysis. The woman was released pending results from the lab and application for a warrant for drug possession.