Traffic stop in central Columbia ends in fatal crash, murder charges
UPDATE 4/2: Columbia police confirmed one woman died in the car crash on Ash Street and Garth Avenue around 8 p.m. Saturday.
Police said Jeremiah K. Lynne, 23, was driving south on Garth Avenue, traveling fast and erratically, fleeing from an attempted traffic stop by a police officer. Skyler Littleton, 19, was Lynne’s passenger.
Police lost sight of Lynne’s car and did not pursue him.
Police said another car was driving south on Garth Avenue and attempted to turn left onto Ash Street when Lynne tried to pass the car and failed to stop at a stop sign.
Lynne crashed into the car in the intersection and then veered left hitting a light pole, according to police.
The two people in the second car were injured.
Littleton was transferred to a local hospital and was later pronounced dead. She was four months pregnant, and the child also died.
Lynne has been charged with two counts of murder in the second degree, felony resisting arrest and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.
Police are still investigating the crash and will determine if alcohol or drugs were involved or not.
UPDATE: The intersection at Ash Street and Garth Avenue are back open.
ORIGINAL: Officers have blocked traffic at the intersection of Ash Street and Garth Avenue after a car crash.
ABC 17 News crews on scene said the Columbia Police Department has closed the central Columbia intersection after at least one car crashed into a sign post. Ambulances have taken at least one person away from the scene. At least two cars appear to be wrecked.
A witness told ABC 17 News that a car tried turning right from Ash Street onto Garth Avenue. That’s when another driver heading south on Garth Avenue ran the stop sign and hit the car, eventually hitting the Kasmann Insurance Agency sign head-on. The driver of that car got hit and ran from the scene, the witness said.
The University of Missouri Police Department and Columbia Fire Department were also on scene. Dispatch records show at least three ambulances were sent there.
This is a developing situation. Stay with ABC 17 News for the latest information.
