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Pursuit ends in crash after St. Louis County police spot vehicle involved in carjacking

Police spotted a vehicle that was involved in a carjacking Tuesday night. The driver failed to pull over during a traffic stop and a pursuit began

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Two men have been charged after a police pursuit ended in a crash Tuesday night in north St. Louis County.

Sobhi Jaraba, 20, of St. Peters has been charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Zachary Crawford, 20, of St. Louis has been charged with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, resisting arrested by fleeing and unlawful use of a firearm. They are each being held on a $500,000 bond.

At around 9 p.m., Florissant officers responded to the 2300 block of Montezuma Drive for a report of a carjacking. The victim said each of the men pulled out a gun and demanded personal items and car keys. They drove off in the victim's car. The officer on scene shared a description of the vehicle to nearby law enforcement agencies, Florissant police said.

About 90 minutes later, a St. Louis County police officer spotted a vehicle that matched the description near Lucas and Hunt Road and Hord Avenue. The suspects inside the vehicle also matched the description given by the victim.

The officer tried to pull over the driver, who refused, leading to a pursuit, St. Louis County police said. Crawford, who was behind the wheel, drove at speeds of up to 120 mph on Interstate 70, according to the probable cause statement.

The pursuit lasted about 20 minutes before the vehicle crashed on I-70 near Natural Bridge Road, police said.

One suspect got out of the car and tried to run away but was taken into custody shortly after, police said. The second suspect was arrested near the vehicle. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

"This was an example of great police work by the St. Louis County Police and all the officers involved to apprehend these two suspects so quickly," Florissant police wrote on their Facebook page.

No other information about the incident has been released.

5 On Your Side's Jacob Kuerth and Dori Olmos contributed to this report.

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