A 33-year-old police officer from Missouri, USA, Phylicia Carson, crashed to death during a high-speed chase after losing control of her patrol car while trying to conduct a traffic stop.
The mother of six was on patrol Sunday at around 1:20 a.m. when she spotted a vehicle speeding down a rural road in Camden County near the Lake of the Ozarks, Chief Todd Davis said during a press conference Saturday.
Carson activated her police lights and pursued the suspect to carry out a traffic stop, but the driver sped off.
While chasing down the suspect, Carson lost control of her patrol car and skidded off the road, crashing into a tree. The car ignited into flames upon impact with the tree.
“Officer Carson perished in the crash,” Police chief Davis said while wiping tears away.
The suspect, Christopher Aaron Bishop Wehmeyer, 23, crashed minutes after Carson while he was fleeing the scene and was later arrested, according to police.
Carson joined the police department in June 2023. She is survived by her husband, Grant Carson, and her six children.
“Please keep the Carson family, our Department, and our community in your thoughts and prayers as we work through this tragic event,” Davis said.
Wehmeyer was charged with aggravated fleeing a stop or detention of a motor vehicle, resulting in death, according to online records.
Carson’s death marked the police department’s first line-of-duty loss in 30 years.
