ST. LOUIS — A man was killed when a police pursuit ended in a crash in north St. Louis Tuesday afternoon.
St. Louis police said a man died and four others were taken to the hospital for treatment after a crash near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Cora Avenue in the Greater Ville. The crash happened at about 2:15 p.m., police said.
On Wednesday, 31-year-old Darryl Powell was charged with second-degree murder and multiple other crimes after police said he was behind the wheel of the fleeing car at the time of the crash. The charges were filed in the City of St. Louis, where the crash occurred.
In a statement, St. Louis County police spokeswoman Tracy Panus said the incident started when they received a call about a robbery at a Dollar General on Halls Ferry Road at around 1:35 p.m.
According to the probable cause statement, Powell drove Javon Crawford and Adrianna Evans to a Dollar General. Crawford and Evans stole a large amount of laundry detergent.
The store's assistant manager attempted to stop the two from leaving with the merchandise but was assaulted by Crawford, according to the statement. Evans loaded the stolen merchandise into the car and the three drove away from the scene.
Employees told police the robbery suspect drove away from the store in a maroon Kia Optima.
Panus said when officers spotted the car near West Florissant Avenue and Dunn Road, they tried to pull it over, but the driver sped away.
Detectives saw the car a short time later near Riverview Drive and Hall Street and tried to use spike strips to stop it, but the driver continued to flee, Panus said. Panus also said police do not know if the spike strips worked or not.
"That put so many people lives in danger," Tamika Tolen, a witness at the scene, said. "I think after a certain time [that] they should [call] off the chase, where it's coming to a point where you're going to run into hurting somebody, killing somebody, [and] call it off."
The police statement said the pursuit continued until the car crashed at the intersection of Cora Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, about 7 miles away from the store robbery.
Video from the scene showed the maroon Kia with significant damage to the front end and a blue 2003 Infiniti G35 that was struck on the front, driver's-side door.
The driver of the Infiniti, an adult man, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Police identified him Wednesday as 34-year-old Jerome Hightower.
Powell and the passenger, a 28-year-old woman, were taken to a local hospital where they are listed in stable condition. Two 3-year-old girls were also in the Kia at the time of the crash and are listed in stable condition, according to a Wednesday update.
Powell was charged in the City of St. Louis with second-degree murder, felony fleeing and two counts of armed criminals action in connection with the crash. He was also charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action out of St. Louis County for the alleged Dollar General robbery.
Police said he has not been taken into custody yet because he is being treated at the hospital.
Crawford and Evans were both charged in St. Louis County with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.
Crawford was taken into custody after he ran away from the crash, according to the statement. he is currently on probation for felony stealing and has prior convictions.
"I knew somebody was dead when I was looking at that car. Somebody's dead,” Henry Young, another witness at the scene, said. "It's pretty bad. It's gone."
Witnesses said they know the man who lost his life. They said he frequented the Crown Mart convenience store, which is right next to the scene of the crash. Witnesses said the two children, who got hurt, were in the suspect's car.
"It could've been avoided man. Whatever you did, you have to pay for it ... Taking innocent people's lives for no reason for the crime they're doing," Young added.
Authorities shut down the roadway to investigate and to have a tow truck haul away the two cars.
"I am stuck in traffic. It looks like an accident happened," driver Vanetta Miles said.
Many drivers were unaware of what was unfolding as they had to wait it out. The roadway re-opened just after 6 p.m. Tuesday.
St. Louis police are handling the investigation of the crash. The department's accident reconstruction team as well as the Force Investigation Unit were called to the scene to investigate.