Teen on the run from detention center is hit and killed by car, Missouri police say
A 17-year-old boy on the run after escaping a juvenile detention center was killed as he tried dodging traffic on a Missouri interstate, police say.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief John Hayden says his department’s intelligence division was conducting mobile undercover surveillance on a vehicle connected to the teen escapee at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14 when it crashed.
In the media briefing posted on Facebook, Hayden said the teen was a passenger alongside a female driver. The vehicle was in the area of Broadway and Briddle, heading onto the interstate ramp, when the vehicle lost control and crashed, he said.
The driver and passenger got out of the car and started to run away, according to police.
“They were eluding cars,” Hayden said. “Several cars almost struck them on Broadway.”
As detectives wearing police vests began to follow, Hayden said the two people ran into westbound lanes of Interstate 70, where they were “running back and forth, dodging in and out of oncoming traffic.”
The 17-year-old escapee was then struck and killed by a car traveling on I-70, KMOV reported. Police say the driver that hit him was not injured during the collision.
The female driver escaped and police are searching for her, Hayden said at the media briefing.
Hayden said the teen who died was facing weapon and drug related charges, along with escape from confinement and tampering. He escaped from the detention center on Sept. 4, both KSDK and KMOV reported.
His death comes after a string of escapes from the St. Louis Juvenile Detention Center.
Two boys, one a murder suspect, escaped from the center on Nov. 16, McClatchy News reported at the time. And in October, four teenagers managed to escape. Other teens escaped on Sept. 4, according to KSDK.
Five of 10 juveniles are back in custody, KSDK reports, from the three separate escapes.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Teen on the run from detention center is hit and killed by car, Missouri police say."