ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A Michigan man faces DWI charges in a crash that injured three St. Louis-area law enforcement officers over the weekend.
James Gibbs, 62, of Flint, Michigan, is behind bars on two counts of DWI (causing injury to a law enforcement officer) and failure to proceed with caution with emergency lights displayed. St. Louis County prosecutors officially filed charges on Monday in the crash.
One officer with the Glendale Police Department and two Missouri state troopers were hurt in the crash, which happened around 2:35 a.m. on Interstate 44 just west of Lindbergh Boulevard.
The officer and troopers initially responded to a report of abandoned vehicle in the eastbound lanes of the interstate. The officer and troopers used their vehicles to block the abandoned car.
According to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, all three police vehicles had their emergency lights activated. As officers responded, a tractor trailer rear-ended one of the state troopers’ vehicles, which then plowed into the Glendale police car and the abandoned vehicle. Investigators later identified Gibbs as the driver.
One state trooper, a 24-year-old, was seriously injured and rushed to a hospital for treatment. A 25-year-old state trooper and a 58-year-old Glendale officer also suffered moderate injuries.
Gibbs is jailed on a $100,000 cash-only bond. He is next scheduled to appear in court on May 1 for a bond reduction hearing, per Missouri court records.