Metro-east man charged with crashing stolen truck into car with baby inside then fuel pump
Nine charges have been filed against an East St. Louis man accused of fleeing police while driving a stolen dump truck, hitting a vehicle that had a baby in it and then crashing it into an Edwardsville gas station fuel pump.
Dwayne E. Carraway, 30, was arrested early Tuesday after the crash at the gas station, Illinois State Police said.
State troopers were told at 1:34 a.m. Tuesday that a stolen dump truck was being pursued by the Troy Police Department on northbound Interstate 55 in Madison County.
During the pursuit, the truck hit a disabled vehicle on the side of the highway and a 4-month-old child was in the vehicle that was struck, according to charging documents.
The truck driver exited the highway onto Illinois 159 and then veered off the road into the parking lot of a QuikTrip gas station, where it struck a fuel pump and another vehicle at the store, state police said.
A small fire occurred but no serious injuries were reported as a result. The gas station is located at 2490 Troy Road in Edwardsville, according to Edwardsville Police Chief Michael Fillback.
Fillback said, “We’re lucky” no serious injuries occurred.
He noted a safety mechanism on the gas pump was able to control the fire.
Charging documents allege Carraway drove the dump truck in the direction of a police officer and that he hit a police officer on the arm and torso.
Carraway told police he struck the gas pump on purpose with the intent to cause an explosion, according to a pretrial detention hearing petition filed by the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office.
A video shows that he swerved into the disabled vehicle on the highway “in an apparent attempt to obstruct the officers in pursuing vehicles,” the petition states.
The dump truck was reported stolen out of St. Clair County.
The charges filed against Carraway include:
Aggravated arson
Unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle
Two counts of aggravated battery
Two counts of criminal damage to property
Two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer
Aggravated assault on a peace officer.
