HILLSDALE • A man who allegedly tried to hit a Hillsdale police officer during a traffic stop Tuesday morning was injured and arrested when a collision in St. Louis capped a half-hour pursuit.

The identity of the suspect, taken to a hospital with what officials said were non-life-threatening injuries, was not released, pending filing of charges.

St. Louis Police Capt. Jerry Leyshock said the chase began when a driver tried to run into a Hillsdale officer who had stopped his SUV.

The pursuit wound into St. Louis on Interstate 70, crossed into Illinois across the McKinley Bridge at Venice, then returned across the bridge and eventually went down Interstate 55 into south-city neighborhoods.

The SUV collided with a pickup truck shortly before 11:30 a.m. at Gravois Avenue and South Compton Avenue. The suspect tried to flee on foot but ran into a city police car instead, said Pete Moszyk, a manager at Elicia's Pizza, who saw the incident.

"He almost tried to jump over the cop's hood, but it flipped him and he landed on the concrete instead," Moszyk said.

"He was complaining of chest pain," Leyshock said of the suspect. "But he was conscious and talking."

A married couple in the pickup truck, who live in Jefferson County, were not hurt. Amanda Lawley, the passenger, said they were turning left when the SUV passed and clipped the front of the truck.

"Hopefully he has insurance," she said, as the truck she and her husband bought just one month before was loaded onto a wrecker.

Leyshock said police believed the SUV driver had a handgun, which was broadcast over the police radio during the chase, but none was found. Officials said it might have been thrown out during the chase.

City police joined the pursuit at South Compton Avenue and Utah Street. "We don't like to chase, but when a guy is waving a gun around, all bets are off," Leyshock said.

Police said a Hillsdale officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries when his unmarked patrol car hit a curb and came to rest on the front lawn of a house along the 3500 block of 11th Street during the pursuit.

Robert Cohen of the Post-Dispatch provided some information for this story.