ST. LOUIS — A passenger in a stolen car fleeing from police was killed in a crash Wednesday afternoon.
Police identified him Thursday as 29-year-old Lemont Lang of Florissant.
A St. Louis police spokesman said the crash happened at the intersection of Arlington Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. The car, a Ford Expedition, had been reported stolen on Saturday from the 4500 block of Laclede.
Major Janice Bockstruck with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said the stolen car was identified by a license plate reader at around 3 p.m. near Dr. Martin Luther King Dive and Union Boulevard. Bockstruck said police tracked the car using cameras until it stopped at a gas station at Union and Goodfellow, made a transaction with a person in another car and drove away.
The department's Anti-Crime Task Force was waiting for the car and was able to deploy spike strips to try to immobilize the car on northbound Goodfellow.
Bockstruck said officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it sped away, so officers backed off and monitored it through cameras. She said the car turned onto Page and then onto Arlington before crashing less than a mile away at the intersection of Arlington and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
According to the police update, Real Time Crime Center Detectives captured the car on camera just before it sideswiped a Nissan Murano just south of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
The right wheel came off of the car and it stuck an electric traffic box at the northeast corner of Arlington and continued north, then lost control and struck a parked Ford Excursion.
The driver fled the scene and got away before officers arrived.
Lang was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash and another passenger inside the car, an 18-year-old man, suffered minor injuries.
A person inside the car that was struck at the intersection and a person inside the parked car that was hit all suffered minor injuries.
An accident reconstruction team is handling the investigation into the crash and the force investigative unit is investigating the incident.
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
Resources for crime victims:
If you have been a victim of a crime or know someone who has been, 5 On Your Side has compiled a list of resources.
Better Family Life is a nonprofit community development organization working to "stabilize inner-city neighborhoods." One aspect of its mission is a gun violence de-escalation program.
Life Outside of Violence "helps those harmed by stabbing, gunshot or assault receive the treatment, support and resources they need to find alternatives to end the cycle of violence."
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has an anti-crime program called “Safety Net for Youth Initiative,” which is a joint partnership with St. Louis Public Schools to provide services to at-risk youth.
Cure Violence is an international organization that has recently launched in a handful of St. Louis neighborhoods. Violence interrupters are trained to deescalate violent situations within their own communities.