ST. LOUIS — A multi-car crash left at least two people dead and several others injured early Wednesday near downtown St. Louis.
A car struck multiple vehicles and pedestrians at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday in the middle of the intersection at North 18th and Olive streets, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. It happened just blocks away from the Enterprise Center, where thousands of people were leaving the Drake and J. Cole concert minutes before.
A law enforcement source tells 5 On Your Side that the victims who were killed were a mother, 42, and daughter, 21, from Chicago. The mother was pronounced dead at the scene. The daughter was transported to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Officers said the driver of a Jeep, a 22-year-old man, was running red lights at a high rate of speed when he sideswiped the front end of another vehicle. The man's Jeep rotated clockwise and hit the mother and daughter who were walking in the crosswalk. The Jeep continued to move until it T-boned another vehicle.
The driver of the Jeep was taken to the hospital and is listed in critical condition. Two teenage passengers in one of the cars and the driver of a third car all suffered minor injuries.
“Definitely thoughts and prayers,” Melissa Houston, who works downtown, said.
“Our hearts go out to the family,” Denise Miles, who also works downtown, added.
Miles and Houston work just feet away from the busy intersection they call “dangerous.”
“People do speed through here. People are getting killed out here and this is not the first incident at this intersection that we know of,” Houston said.
“The police station is not even a block away, so that’s sad to even hear or to even know that no one cares about the lives of someone else,” Miles said.
“The tragedy, the impact that happens, it lasts for years,” Cindy Mense, chief executive officer at Trailnet, said.
For more than 30 years, the nonprofit has advocated for safe streets.
“We advocate for everyone. Pedestrians, bikers and drivers in the St. Louis region,” Mense said.
The nonprofit’s office is just down the street from the downtown intersection where nearly a year ago then-17-year-old Janae Edmondson lost both of her legs after police say a then-21-year-old driver failed to yield and collided with another car. The Tennessee teen was in town for a volleyball tournament and walking back to her hotel when she was struck.
“It’s tragic for the city and for the family impacted," Mense added.
“My message for drivers who speed through here is just slow down,” Houston said.
Accident Reconstruction was handling the ongoing investigation as of Wednesday night.
This is a breaking news story. 5 On Your Side will update it as more information becomes available.
Christine Byers of 5 On Your Side contributed to this report.
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