By Kim Bell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. CHARLES — A Missouri Highway Patrol trooper was treated for scrapes and road rash Thursday morning after she was dragged by a car she stopped along Interstate 70 in St. Charles.
The trooper suffered moderate injuries and was treated at St. Joseph’s Hospital and released a few hours later.
Shortly after she was hurt, St. Peters police stopped the car and arrested the driver, Marc Staszcuk, 42, of Foristell. He was booked on suspicion of DWI and assault of a law enforcement officer.
It started at about 1:30 a.m. when the trooper pulled over a 1991 Toyota Celica going east on Interstate 70 near First Capitol Drive. Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Nothum said the trooper stopped the motorist on suspicion of DWI.
The trooper came to the driver’s side window, and the driver sped away.
“Something happened ... and the male subject took off and the trooper was dragged for several yards,” Nothum said.
Once she was freed, the trooper managed to get back to her patrol car and call for help. She gave a good description of the car. St. Peters police stopped the car, without incident, on Highway 79 near Salt River Road.
The injured trooper is 26 years old and has been with the patrol three years.
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