A St. Louis Metropolitan Police officer is expected to survive after being struck by a car Monday morning while making an arrest.
Chief Robert Tracy said the officer was one of several in pursuit of a car that had been reported stolen out of the Metro East. Police arrested two suspects without incident after the Acura lost control on eastbound Interstate 70 near Shreve Avenue.
A third suspect jumped over the median into the eastbound express lanes. The officer was holding him at gunpoint when a different car traveling in the express lanes hit them both and fled the scene. The injured suspect remained in critical condition as of Monday afternoon.
The officer was able to fire his gun to alert colleagues to his location. They used a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and rushed him to the hospital.
Tracy said the 31-year-old officer suffered a severe leg injury. He had been with the department for six years, and Tracy said he had previously been hurt on the job.
“He has come back to this police department to make sure that he went out to service again when he didn’t have to,” Tracy said. “And here he is again, showing that bravery.”
Police said they found two guns in the car.
The car that struck the two is a Cadillac CTS sedan, model year 2008 to 2013, police said. It has damage on the passenger side rear door and was last seen driving in the eastbound express lanes with its bumper hanging off. Police say surveillance cameras spotted the vehicle around 8:50 a.m. where Interstates 55 and 44 split in south St. Louis.
Police urge anyone who spots the Cadillac to call CrimeStoppers at 314-725-8477.
