Man charged after hit-and-run at intersection near Arnold
JEFFERSON COUNTY (KMOV) -- Prosecutors charged Jacob Whitmore with leaving the scene of an accident that injured a man on a motorcycle at an intersection near Arnold. Police were able to track the license plate on the vehicle he was driving. They later seized it and confirmed it was the one used in the crash.
Blake Ball was left battered and bruised from the crash but not seriously hurt. He was riding his motorcycle on the way home from work Wednesday when a car struck him from behind.
“I’m just still kind of in shock and in a lot of pain,” he said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the accident, which happened in February at the intersection of Highway 141 and Fiedler Lane in Jefferson County. On dashcam video recorded by another driver at the intersection, a blue Chevrolet Cruze can be seen slowing somewhat and then striking Ball and sending him into the air. Then the Chevy drove off.
Jenny Swafford was in her car waiting to turn onto Highway 141 when she witnessed the hit-and-run.
“I looked over and his body, it was like arched back and going straight up into the air. And when he landed, he wasn’t moving, and his body just kind of crumbled,” said Swafford.
Ball was wearing a helmet at the time. He appears to become airborne in the video, then lands on a car in front of his motorcycle before falling to the ground.
“I heard something, and then I kind of pretty much woke up on the ground,” he said.
The car that struck Ball backed up and then drove around a median and sped away on Highway 141.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, it’s a blue Chevrolet Cruze with a temporary tag and a license plate holder with a local car dealership’s name on it. Investigators checked with the dealership for records of a recent sale of a car that fits the description.
On Monday, troopers told News 4 they had recovered the car but did not disclose if a suspect was in custody.
The driver is described as a man in his mid-20s. There was also a woman around the same age in the passenger seat.
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