Police pursue speeding Mercedes from St. Louis to Pontoon Beach, IL, where it crashes
A Mercedes SUV being pursued by police in St. Louis crashed early Monday while trying to exit I-270 at Pontoon Beach in Illinois, rolling several times, according to a news release from the St. Louis County Police Department.
The driver of the vehicle, Attauiyo Ekong, 28, of Linton Avenue, St. Louis, has been charged with resisting arrest by fleeing - creating a substantial risk of serious injury or death to any person, Police Sgt. Tracy Panus stated in the release.
Ekong was hospitalized after the crash but is expected to survive his injuries, the release states.
A police officer tried to stop the SUV for speeding at 12:06 a.m. near Goodfellow Boulevard and Veronica Avenue in Jennings, but it kept going, the release states.
“The defendant fled the attempted stop at a high rate of speed while weaving in and out of lanes of traffic,” the release says, citing a probable cause statement. “The officer ultimately terminated the stop, but maintained visual surveillance on the vehicle for a period of time. Officers observed the vehicle approximately 3 minutes later, in the city of St. Louis, at which time the defendant drove the vehicle he was operating directly at the officers’ vehicles forcing at least one officer to reposition his marked squad vehicle to avoid being struck.
“ The defendant continued to flee police after attempting to strike the officers, at which time officers initiated a pursuit and pursued the vehicle into Illinois where it was involved in a single-vehicle crash rendering the vehicle disabled, and the defendant was taken into custody.”
Police also asking the Circuit Attorney’s Office to file charges of assault and unlawful possession of a firearm, the release states.
St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives are leading this investigation.
