5 officers, 1 child hurt in Missouri interstate crash; driver arrested

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) - Five police officers were hurt after a serious crash on I-70 in Maryland Heights Wednesday morning around 1:45 a.m.

Three officers with Lake Saint Louis Police Department and two from St. Charles County police working in the Auto Task Force were blocking two lanes of traffic when a dark Jeep Cherokee hit them, police said.

The officers had chased a car theft suspect who crashed and were handling that wreckage when they were hit, the Associated Press reported. The Jeep Cherokee tried to swerve but struck a Lake Saint Louis police car, causing one officer to be ejected as the police car spun out of control and struck two other Lake Saint Louis officers standing nearby, the patrol said.

They were taken to a hospital. The three Lake Saint Louis officers suffered serious injuries. The two officers from St. Charles County suffered minor injuries.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper confirmed that a 2-year-old girl inside the car that hit the officers was also taken to a hospital.

The driver of the Jeep, a 31-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, child endangerment, driving with a suspended license, unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

Copyright 2023 KMOV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.