By Blythe Bernhard
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — A U.S. park ranger escaped serious injury after being hit by a car near the Gateway Arch grounds early on Sunday. The driver of the car later died of gunshot wounds at a hospital.
About 5:30 a.m., the ranger saw four people throwing construction barricades into the swollen Mississippi River near First Street and Washington Avenue, according to the St. Louis Police Department.
Three of the suspects ran when the ranger approached, but a fourth man attacked the ranger, police said. The ranger fired a stun gun to stop the 23-year-old man and had handcuffed one of his wrists when the man was able to run to his car. The man, now driving the car, hit the ranger with his car, and the ranger fired several shots before calling for assistance, police said.
City police found the ranger in a semiconscious state before taking him to a hospital, where he was treated and released. His name was not released on Sunday.
Police found and arrested two of the suspects near the scene. Minutes later, police received a call about a car accident at Mullanphy Street and North Broadway, about 10 blocks north of the Arch grounds.
There, they found the man accused of hitting the ranger with his car. He was trapped in his car and had taken gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen and groin, police said. The man was taken to a hospital, where he died. His name has not been released.
A police investigation is continuing.
St. Louis Post Dispatch