By Sgt. Bill Lowe

At approximately 12:43 a.m., a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop a red passenger vehicle for a traffic violation on southbound Interstate 29 near the 2-mile marker.

The vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit traveled on several streets in the Riverside, Missouri, area. Eventually, the suspect vehicle traveled down a private, dead-end drive off Frontier Street.

Preliminary investigation indicates that as the trooper exited his vehicle, the suspect vehicle turned around and began traveling toward the trooper. The trooper, who feared being struck by the suspect vehicle, then fired his service weapon toward the suspect as he attempted to get out of the path of the suspect’s vehicle.

The suspect’s vehicle subsequently struck the trooper before fleeing the scene. The trooper sustained moderate injuries as a direct result of being struck, and was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released.

The suspect was later taken into custody on 18th Street near K-5 in Kansas City, Kansas, by the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.

The suspect was identified as Derek D. Straum, 29, of Gardner, Kansas. The investigation is ongoing and being handled by the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control.