Alleged drunken driver flees police, hits police vehicle, injures Cape officer

An alleged drunken driver was taken into custody after ramming one Cape Girardeau police officer’s patrol vehicle during a Saturday night pursuit and causing another officer to break a finger.

The driver, Eliseo Carmona, was charged with one Class E felony count of driving while intoxicated, one Class E felony count of resisting arrest, one Class E felony count for leaving the scene of an accident causing property damage exceeding $1,000, one Class A misdemeanor for fourth-degree assault on an officer, and one Class A misdemeanor for driving while revoked.

According to a probable-cause statement written by patrolman David Weidenbenner, the incident began at about 11:18 p.m. in the area of Main and Independence streets.

Weidenbenner stated he observed a black Nissan passenger car driving over a sidewalk, crossing through an oncoming traffic lane and onto Independence Street before failing to stop at the intersection of Main and Independence streets and turning south.

Appearing to yield to the officer’s activated emergency lights, according to the probable-cause statement, the vehicle came to a stop after turning west onto Merriwether Street and Weidenbenner stepped out of his patrol vehicle to approach the suspect vehicle.

The vehicle then “quickly accelerated” and turned southbound onto South Lorimier Street, Weidenbenner stated, at which point he returned to his patrol car and began pursuing the suspect vehicle with activated emergency lights and sirens.

The suspect vehicle continued south and failed to yield to a stop sign at the intersection of South Lorimier and William streets, Weidenbenner stated, before turning westbound onto Good Hope Street, where it also failed to yield to a stop sign.

According to the probable-cause statement, the vehicle traveled west at a high rate of speed and failed to stop for another stop sign as it traveled through the intersection of Good Hope and South Sprigg streets.

Weidenbenner stated he followed the suspect vehicle as it traveled toward the intersection of Good Hope and South Pacific streets, at which point he viewed Cape Girardeau K-9 officer Johnny Spencer’s patrol vehicle positioned near the intersection with its emergency lights activated.

Ignoring another stop sign, the suspect vehicle traveled through the intersection at a high rate of speed where it skidded into and damaged Spencer’s patrol vehicle, according to the probable-cause statement.

The collision caused a substantial risk of injury to Spencer and K-9 Thor, both of whom were inside the vehicle, Weidenbenner stated.

According to the probable-cause statement, the suspect vehicle ultimately came to a stop at the intersection of William and South Benton streets where the driver, later identified as Carmona, exited the vehicle and disregarded “loud verbal commands” from Weidenbenner to stop and lie on the ground.

Weidenbenner stated he “used open hand techniques to assist Carmona to the ground,” during which the officer sustained a bone fracture to the left ring finger.

Carmona’s eyes were described as “glassy, watery, and bloodshot” in the probable-cause statement, which also described the suspect’s “slurred, incoherent, and mumbled” speech was hard to understand.

According to the probable-cause statement, Carmona refused to perform a field sobriety test or provide a breath sample.