A 39-year-old Arnold man is facing two felony charges and two misdemeanor charges after he was driving a pickup on Jeffco Boulevard, and a 1-year-old boy fell out of the truck, which had a malfunctioning passenger-side door. The young boy was in a carrier seat, but it was not secured in the vehicle, Arnold Police reported.
The boy, who is from Arnold, was taken to St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where he was treated and released, Arnold Police reported.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Evan Randall Jurgensen, who is the boy’s father, with abuse or neglect of a child and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, both class B felonies punishable by five to 15 years in prison. He also was charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, both class B misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, court record show.
Jurgensen was in Arnold Police custody as of May 20 and was expected to be transported to the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, where he would be held without bond, Arnold Police Cpl. Brett Ackermann said.
The boy fell out of a 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 at about 2:30 p.m. May 19, and an Arnold Police officer who was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Jeffco Boulevard and Church Road saw the incident. The officer said Jurgensen turned north onto Jeffco Boulevard from Church Road at a high rate of speed, and during the turn, the passenger-side door flew open and the seat holding the child fell out. The boy was secured in the seat by shoulder straps, but the seat was not secured to anything in the pickup, Ackermann said.
“He remained strapped into the seat, which probably saved him,” Ackermann said. “The seat belt was not strapped across the seat to keep it secured in the pickup.”
The boy suffered a head injury and was transported by Rock Township Ambulance to the hospital, the report said.
Jurgensen remained at the scene after the accident. He appeared intoxicated and was arrested. In addition to suspicion of DWI, child abuse or neglect, endangering the welfare of a child, and careless and imprudent driving, he was arrested for having improper license plates on a vehicle, failure to signal a turn, making an improper left turn, not wearing a seat belt, driving without proof of insurance and failure to register a vehicle, Arnold Police reported.
Ackermann said a Rock Community Fire Protection District firefighter told officers he had seen the Dodge at about 11:15 a.m. Thursday outside the Zingers Mart convenience store, 1502 Jeffco Blvd., and saw the passenger-side door open and items fall out of the pickup. The firefighter allegedly told Jurgensen that he should not be driving the pickup because of the malfunctioning door.
Investigators said the door had been damaged and no longer properly latched, Ackermann said.