Arnold Police arrested a 31-year-old St. Louis man for alleged possession of drugs after he reportedly tried to flee the scene of an accident caused by a wheel falling off an SUV he was driving on Hwy. 141. The incident happened at about 4:15 a.m. June 26, police reported.
The man was driving a 2006 GMC Yukon west on Hwy. 141 and while on the I-55 overpass, the front passenger-side wheel came off the SUV. The Yukon traveled into the westbound lane and hit a Jeep Renegade on its rear driver’s side, the report said.
The wheel rolled off the overpass and struck a 2013 Toyota Prius that was traveling north on I-55, damaging the right side of the windshield and the front passenger side and wheel. The 30-year-old St. Louis man who was driving the Prius was able to pull over to the interstate’s shoulder. No injuries were reported as a result of the accident, but the Renegade, which was driven by a 69-year-old Green Bay, Wisc., woman, and the Prius had to be towed from the scene, police reported.
It is not known why the wheel fell off the Yukon, Capt. Rich Shular said.
The man who was driving the Yukon abandoned the SUV on the highway and allegedly ran away. However, he was located near Arnold Commons and arrested without further incident, the report said.
Police searched the Yukon and inside it allegedly found white tablets and capsules along with a glass pipe and a used syringe, according to the report.
The man was arrested and taken to the Police Station, where he was booked and released pending application for warrants. Depending on results of the drug analysis, Arnold Police will seek charges against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia and leaving the scene of an accident, Shular said.