Man charged with 3 felonies after 2 youths injured during high-speed chase in Jefferson City

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Moniteau County man was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor after two children and an adult were injured on Monday night from a crash during a high-speed chase.

Jaden Bennett, 23, of California, Missouri, was charged on Tuesday in Cole County with aggravated fleeing, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond.

The probable cause statement says a police officer saw Bennett drive through a red light in downtown Jefferson City and tried to conduct a traffic stop. Bennett stopped his vehicle and took off again when the officer got out of his vehicle, the statement says.

Speeds eclipsed 100 miles per hour and at one point Bennett’s vehicle became airborne, the statement says. He crashed his vehicle into a guard rail at the Summit Drive exit of Highway 54, the statement says.

An adult passenger, as well as a 12-year-old and 8-year-old were injured in the vehicle after the crash, police wrote.