ST. LOUIS — Family, friends, colleagues and the community continue to mourn the loss of St. Louis County Detective Antonio Valentine.
Valentine was killed Wednesday afternoon after a head-on crash involving a stolen car in north St. Louis County. It happened around 2:10 p.m. at Crete Drive and Chambers Road. Police said the stolen car was speeding away from an attempted stop by drug detectives. Valentine was driving an unmarked police SUV toward the attempted stop when the stolen car crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and crashed into the police SUV head-on.
A second officer injured in the crash was treated and released from the hospital.
The driver of the stolen car died from his injuries, police said. He was identified as 33-year-old Alfred Mayes.
Valentine was 42 and leaves behind four children ranging in age from 10 to 22. He joined the department in 2007. He also spent more than a decade serving in the military, deploying to Iraq and Kyrgyzstan.
Here's how you can show your support
The BackStoppers Inc.
The Backstoppers Inc. is helping the family of Detective Valentine. His family will receive an immediate $10,000 payment to help cover any costs or anything else they might need, a press release from the organization said.
For more information or to donate to The BackStoppers, click here.
St. Louis County Police Department memorial
If you wish to leave flowers or other tokens of honor for Detective Valentine, St. Louis County Police Department has set up a public memorial at the Central County Precinct located at 1333 Ashby Rd.
Already people have left a framed photo of Valentine, flowers and teddy bears. Police have also draped black ribbon over a county police vehicle and the front of the precinct in remembrance of Valentine.