By Joel Currier
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — An off-duty St. Louis officer crashed into a city-owned SUV that was parked in the driveway of a deputy fire chief’s home early Thursday and is being investigated for drunken driving, authorities say.
Police on Friday identified the officer as Jeffrey Trares, 37. Police said Trares struck the fire department SUV while driving his personal vehicle shortly after 5 a.m., police said. The crash was on McCausland Avenue near Wabash Avenue.
Trares’ vehicle came to rest on the lawn of a home, police say. Paramedics responded but determined he was not hurt.
The SUV, a Chevrolet Tahoe that was parked in a deputy chief’s driveway, is an unmarked take-home vehicle owned by the fire department, according to Fire Capt. Garon Mosby. The department has five deputy chiefs.
The police department’s internal affairs investigators responded to the scene and have begun an investigation, police say.
A police spokeswoman said Trares was arrested and released pending charges and that the investigation is ongoing.
Police said he has worked for the department for just under 14 years.
Trares was among more than 40 city officers to be given awards Thursday at a police luncheon for 3rd and 4th police districts at the Chase Park Plaza. Trares was one of two officers named as the July 2015 officers of the month. He was reportedly absent from the luncheon.
A different St. Louis officer was drunk when he crashed a squad car after a shift in December, according to charges filed in January. Jason Flanery resigned from the force shortly after the crash on Dec. 19. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.
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