ST CHARLES, Mo. — Police say a motorcycle driver was assaulted by his estranged wife’s boyfriend before he fell from the Discovery Bridge early Sunday, and his body has not been found.
St. Charles County police say Timothy Walker, 45, struck Timothy Perkins, 44, with his 2020 Ford F450 truck. Perkins was driving a 2005 Harley Davidson motorcycle. At some point, Perkins fell from the bridge, and a fisherman told police he saw him surface, scream for help, but he never resurfaced. Police believe he is dead.
Walker is now charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence and leaving the scene of an accident. His bail has been set at $350,000 cash only.
It happened at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday. Police say Walker was driving westbound along Missouri 370 west of the Discovery Bridge, with Perkins following him. Evidence at the scene shows Walker “rapidly applied the brakes,” and the motorcycle collided with his truck in the left lane, overturned onto its left side and began to slide along the shoulder. It came to rest at a concrete media barrier, according to court documents.
Police say evidence at the scene also showed Walker stopped the truck ahead of the motorcycle, put it in reverse and rapidly accelerated, striking the front of the motorcycle. After striking the motorcycle, Walker fled eastbound along Missouri 370 in his truck, according to court documents.
Walker told police Perkins was chasing him and approached him on the left side while he was driving in the middle lane, displaying a gun “in a threatening manner,” toward him, according to the documents.
Walker told police he was trying to force the motorcycle off the left side of the road so he stopped in front of it. He told police he saw Perkins stand up and look toward him and the truck, but Walker denied ever getting out of his truck or putting it in reverse to strike the motorcycle, according to the documents.
He told police he left the scene along eastbound Missouri 370 and threw his cellphone out of a window while he was driving along an unknown roadway, according to the documents.
Police found a handgun in one of the saddlebags on the motorcycle and found magazines from two different handguns next to the motorcycle, according to the documents.
Police also interviewed Perkins’ estranged wife, Barbara Perkins, who told police she talked to Walker on the phone after he fled from the scene and he told her he wouldn’t have to worry about Timothy Perkins chasing him any longer because he crashed his truck into his truck and jumped off the bridge after he crashed his motorcycle, according to the documents.
St. Charles County Prosecutor issued a statement saying noting the victim’s body has not yet been found.
“While the search continues, until we have all the facts, the evidence does not support murder charges at this point,” he wrote.
