A 29-year-old man has died of wounds sustained in a chain-reaction crash he caused as he was fleeing police.
The incident happened on Monday, April 12th at around 11:30 a.m. in St. Louis, Missouri.
According to KMOV 4 News, Police initially spotted 29-year-old Silas Smith in the parking lot of a Speedy Gas Station located in the 8800 block of N. Broadway. Because of the location’s history of shootings and drug transactions, officers circled around the block and returned to the gas station to confront Smith. Initially, Smith pulled over for the officers, but then apparently changed his mind and fled the scene.
Smith was pursued by a helicopter as he fled in his Dodge Challenger, drove over spikes twice, and ran a red light, where a Jeep crashed into him near Broadway and Taylor. The force of the impact sent Smith spinning into a Ford Fusion, which led to a chain reaction crash with three more vehicles, including a semi truck.
The chain reaction crash ejected Smith from his vehicle as it caught on fire. Smith was critically injured in the incident and later died of his injuries at a nearby hospital. A total of six people were injured in the multi-vehicle wreck but their conditions, apart from Smith’s death, are not known.
Upon investigation, officers discovered a bag of suspected narcotics, a hand gun, and another ‘powdery substance’ in the suspects sweatshirt.