Missouri officer dies after crashing into a tree during high speed chase

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri police officer and mother of six children died after losing control of her patrol vehicle and crashing into a tree while chasing someone who fled a traffic stop.

Osage Beach police officer Phylicia Carson, 33, spun off the road and hit a tree Saturday while chasing someone a different officer had tried to pull over for speeding. The Camden County Sheriff’s Office identified that person as 23-year-old Christopher Aaron Bishop Wehmeyer, who faces felony charges for resisting arrest and creating a substantial risk of death, according to jail records.

Wehmeyer fled from an Osage Beach police officer who attempted to stop Wehmeyer for speeding on U.S. Highway 54. Carson then joined the pursuit before skidding off the road into a tree. Her car burst into flames, and she died of her injuries.

Carson joined the police department in 2023 and leaves behind her husband and six children, Osage Beach Police Chief Todd Davis said at a news conference.

Jail records did not indicate whether Wehmeyer had retained an attorney. In a phone call, a staffer at the Camden County Jail could not say whether the man had a lawyer.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Carson “will not be forgotten,” in a statement published online.