Man accused of crashing into police vehicles while having child in backseat
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A California, Missouri, man was charged with several felonies after he led law enforcement on a chase on Sunday morning.
Stephen Curtner, 48, was charged on Monday in Callaway County with second-degree assault, misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of first-degree property damage. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.
The probable cause statement says Curtner was accused of driving with a missing child. The child’s mother allegedly reported the youth missing and in danger after Curtner did not bring the child home the night before, the statement says.
Jefferson City police found Curtner driving a Toyota and tried to conduct a traffic stop on Highway 54, but Curtner sped away at 115 miles per hour with the child in the truck, according to the probable cause statement.
After getting off and back on the highway, Curtner then allegedly drove his truck into oncoming traffic at Simon Boulevard in Holts Summit and crashed into a street sign, the statement says. Officers tried to arrest Curtner, but then he allegedly tried to back into law enforcement and crashed into patrol vehicles from the Jefferson City and Holts Summit police departments, the statement says.
Police eventually forced Curtner to stop and the child was found in the backseat, the statement says. Curtner allegedly tested positive for using methamphetamine and weed, court documents say.