by Emily Fredrix, Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP)- A St. Louis police officer was killed and another hospitalized when their police cruiser collided with a van during their pursuit of a possibly stolen car, then flipped twice and caught fire, police said.
Michael Barwick, hired by the department two years ago, died at a hospital shortly after the accident about 10 p.m. Thursday on the city’s north side, police said.
Fellow officer Jenna Christian, 23, was in serious-but-stable condition in Saint Louis University Hospital’s intensive-care unit, police spokeswoman Lisa Pisciotta said. Christian, who joined the department last year, suffered a broken arm, lung bruises and cuts to an ear and her face, Pisciotta said.
The van’s driver was listed as being in serious condition early Friday at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
The occupants of the suspected stolen car were being sought.
While police officials said details of the accident were sketchy, they and witnesses said the police cruiser - its lights and siren in use - apparently was pursuing the suspected car when the van entered the marked police vehicle’s path.
“It looks like their (police) car was sideswiped or hit by the van driven by civilian,” police spokesman Richard Wilkes said.
The police cruiser then tumbled a couple of times, witnesses said, before it came to rest on its top and burst into flames.
“Other officers came to the rescue and pulled the officers out,” Wilkes said.
The speeds of the vehicles at the time of the crash were not immediately available, police said.