Investigators are waiting to interview a 32-year-old St. Louis woman until she recovers from an accident after she allegedly stole an SUV in Arnold, eluded St. Louis Police twice and led Arnold Police on a chase that ended in a crash on I-255 in south St. Louis County. The woman allegedly had stolen the SUV on June 3 from outside LMC Industries, 110 Manufacturers Drive, authorities reported.
The owner of the SUV, a 31-year-old Maryland Heights man, told police he had let the woman stay in the SUV while he was at work because she is homeless. The man said he thought he had the keys to the Explorer with him, but while he was on a break, he noticed the keys were gone, went to the parking lot and the Explorer was missing, according to the report.
Arnold Police attempted to stop the 1998 Ford Explorer at about 8 a.m. June 5 at the Mobile On the Run gas station, 3611 the West Outer Road, but the woman allegedly drove the SUV through a grassy area and onto side streets near the business. Police followed the SUV onto the West Outer Road, and when the Explorer got onto Richardson Road, the driver attempted to ram a police cruiser that was blocking the I-55 north entrance, according to the report.
The police cruiser was able to avoid being hit by the SUV, and officers continued to chase the Explorer on I-55. The SUV swerved around vehicles as it traveled south on I-55 and got off on the I-255 ramp, passing vehicles on the shoulder, Arnold Police reported.
The SUV attempted to get off the interstate at the Lemay Ferry Road exit, but it began to skid and traveled off the right side of the road. The driver got the Explorer back on the road, but then it ran off the left side of the interstate, hit a tree and struck a rock before overturning and striking a second tree, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
Arnold Police reported that the woman and a 30-year-old St. Louis man were ejected from the SUV.
The woman and man were not wearing seat belts, and the Explorer was totaled, the patrol said.
The woman was taken to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County. She suffered a broken back, cracked ribs and injured her collar bone, and Arnold Police had not been able to interview her as of June 9, Detective Lt. Jason Valentine said.
The man, who was taken to Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur, already was wanted by St. Louis Police for two felony warrants, Arnold Police reported.
On June 4 and June 5, prior to the Arnold Police chases and crash, St. Louis Police had attempted to stop the SUV, which was spray-painted in an attempt to conceal it from investigators, Valentine said.
He said Arnold Police will seek charges against the woman through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, first-degree tampering, resisting arrest and first-degree property damage. He also said police are seeking a second-degree tampering charge against the St. Louis man who was ejected from the SUV in the crash.