Suspect crashes during pursuit near Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A suspected fuel drive-off Tuesday morning at a convenience store on Highway 67 North led to a pursuit that ended about 10 miles farther south when the suspect's vehicle crashed into a utility pole.

About 11:25 a.m., employees at the Minit Mart convenience store in the 3900 block of Highway 67 North, just outside the city limits, reported a fuel drive-off involving a white Chrysler van, according to a news release from Poplar Bluff Police Capt. David Sutton.

"A few minutes later, Poplar Bluff animal control officer Mark Hastings saw the van driving south on [Westwood Boulevard] in Poplar Bluff, and reported its location and direction ... to the Poplar Bluff Police Department," Sutton said.

About 11:35 a.m., Sutton said, Police Sgt. Chuck Harris attempted a traffic stop on the van as it turned south on Highway 53 from Westwood.

The van's driver, later identified as Michael L. Paul, 44, of Mexico, Missouri, allegedly accelerated in an effort to escape, Sutton said. Speeds during the pursuit reached more than 70 mph, according to the report.

After what Sutton described as a brief pursuit, the van ran off the road at County Road 320 and County Road 337 and struck a utility pole.

Paul's front seat passenger, 24-year-old Lindsey Ryan, was injured in the crash and taken to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center for treatment. Ryan later was transferred to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau for treatment of what Sutton described as serious injuries.

Paul was arrested on suspicion of felonious restraint, careless and imprudent driving, two counts of speeding, failure to drive on the right side of the road, no proof of insurance, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, resisting arrest, second-degree assault, receiving stolen property and an Audrain County warrant for identity theft, forgery and stealing and a Audrain County failure to appear warrant for possession of marijuana.