ST. LOUIS — A father and his 9-year-old son are recovering after a stolen car crashed into their vehicle during a police chase.
The crash happened Tuesday afternoon in north St. Louis.
"We were just talking, and then it looked like everything just went upside down," said Schuylar Steele, who was FaceTiming her son and fiance when they were struck. "Once they finally gained consciousness, they got back on the phone and were yelling they were hit."
It was the worst kind of phone call Schuylar Steele could've received. Her fiance, Demetrius Haines Sr., and their son, Demetrius Haines Jr., are suffering from multiple injuries now.
Police said a man and a teenage boy sped through a red light at the intersection of Page and Goodfellow boulevards, crashing into the father and son and totaling their black Lexus.
"We were stunned, he was shaking. I was pretty much traumatized myself. More so worried about him than me," Demetrius Haines Sr. said.
The driver of the stolen car died at the scene. Mitch McCoy, St. Louis police spokesman, said the passenger in that car took off running.
"We were looked at like we were criminals. Pretty scary sight, pretty confusing for me being a victim of something like this," Haines Sr. said.
The Haines family said they felt they weren't being treated as innocent bystanders.
McCoy said, "I hate that they feel that way. We have a duty to serve and protect. And I hate that they felt like we weren't upholding that duty to serve and protect promise. But rest assured, we were making every effort possible to secure that scene. And to make sure that the people that were running from us were not a threat to them."
The father said he reached for the door, got out of the car by himself, and stumbled onto the sidewalk. He said he and his son sat on the side of the road with no medical attention.
"Within 60 seconds, no later than a minute, our officers were attending to the people that were inside that black Lexus," McCoy said. "There was a priority at the scene immediately after we were able to secure that area and make sure that there was no active threat."
St. Louis police and the Haines family are calling for an end to these high-speed chases.
"It's putting everybody else in danger, including innocent bystanders. We could've lost our life that night," Haines said.
"At the end of the day, our officers were trying to stop an already dangerous driver from creating even more of a danger in our community," McCoy said.
The St. Louis City NAACP is also addressing the deadly police pursuit, with Chapter President Adolphus Pruitt issuing the following statement:
"We all are concerned about the avoidable dangers and mayhem inflicted on the innocent and the community especially when the pursuit results in a crash, destruction of property, and/or physical harm to individuals. It's important that future perpetrators understand that our laws have recently changed; and these high-speed chases are now class D felonies punishable by a minimum of a year in prison without the possibility of probation, parole, or early release."