O'FALLON, Mo. — A man died Sunday morning after police shot him and he crashed while trying to flee from officers in O'Fallon, Missouri.
O'Fallon police Sgt. Tony Michalka said the man died after crashing near Mexico Road and Aspen Pointe Drive a little after 11 a.m.
Michalka said the incident started when a person who lives on the 500 block of Prentice Drive, a short distance away from the crash scene, called police about a suspicious vehicle with people possibly sleeping inside.
When officers arrived, one of them knocked loudly on the window. While knocking on the window the officer said he saw a handgun inside the car.
Michalka said the driver of the car then backed up into the patrol vehicle and started driving away. The two officers who responded to the initial call fired their guns at the driver inside the car.
The man drove out of the neighborhood with one of the patrol vehicles following behind. The car crashed near Mexico Road and Aspen Pointe Drive.
Police then realized the man had been shot and attempted life-saving treatment. He died at a hospital a short time later. Police have not identified him.
A second person in the car was taken into custody after the crash.
Bill V. was cleaning out his garage when he heard some commotion coming from the entrance of the Aspen Pointe neighborhood.
"I came down the driveway and I'm seeing them piling up down here and I think well there must've been a bad accident here," Bill V. said.
That's where O'Fallon police chased a car with two people inside who officers say had a gun.
"At that point in time, it wasn't a bad accident. There's officers, weapons drawn and they're swarming the car," Bill V. said.
Police said they found a handgun inside the car. They also discovered the car had been reported stolen out of St. Louis County.
Bodycam footage was turned over to the St. Charles County Police Department which is handling the investigation.
The officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.
No officers were injured in the incident. A police K-9 was in the police vehicle that was struck, but the dog was not injured.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.