In St. Charles County, dads in two crashes accused of endangering children
Fast cars, booze and children are a recipe for trouble, police say.
In two separate criminal cases filed in the past week, two men are accused of crashing their vehicles down embankments with their kids riding inside.
In the first incident, authorities say William A. Owens, 48, of the first block of Cedar Grove Court in St. Charles, led police on a high-speed chase from Maryland Heights to his home in St. Charles County. Authorities tried to stop Owens bout 2:20 a.m. Saturday on suspicion of drunken driving along Highway 370 near Highway 94.
William A. Owens
When police tried to stop Owens’ GMC van, he sped off at 105 mph in a 60 mph zone, authorities say, then hopped out near his home and ran off while the car was still moving.
The car rolled down an embankment into a creek with his two daughters, 2 and 4, his son, 7, and their mother still inside the van, police said.
Owens cut his face while running from deputies and spit blood at the deputy who caught up to him, authorities said.
The boy suffered a cut on his face; his mother had a minor head injury. The two girls were not hurt.
Owens was charged with three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of assaulting a law enforcement officer. Additional charges may be pending. He is being held in lieu of $10,000 cash-only bail at the St. Charles County Jail.
In the other case, Lorenzo T. Peebles, of the 13000 block of Vanderwood Drive in Florissant, has been charged with felony endangering the welfare of a child.
Authorities say Peebles, 41, was speeding and weaving Sunday afternoon near the Riverlands Environmental Demonstration Area, crashed his Cadillac Escalade into an embankment and tried walking from the scene with his two children, ages 5 and 7.
Lorenzo T. Peebles
The children weren’t hurt. Authorities turned the children over to their grandmother.
Deputies are investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.
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Two fine examples, of people, who shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce! I Hope the judge really sticks it to ‘em!
Let me get this straight? Owens; drunk and driving, speeds away from Officer, abandons moving vehicle with family inside, (it rolls down a hill into creek)Officer catches him on foot and he spits blood on Officer???? This is a very dangerous human being! (and that is too nice a description of him) I bet he cries racisism too! I bet his family REALLY respects him now!……and the other guy?……. just plain stupid! Oh it wasn’t me, i’m just walking here! These morons obviously had zero reguard for their kids or family and are the poorest excuse for a man.