Missouri officer dies after crashing into a tree during high speed chase

OSAGE BEACH, Missouri — A Missouri police officer and mother of six was killed after she lost control of her patrol car and crashed into a tree while chasing someone who ran from a traffic stop.

Osage Beach police officer Phylicia Carson, 33, spun off the road and struck a tree Saturday while pursuing someone another officer had tried to pull over for speeding. The Camden County Sheriff’s Office identified the person as 23-year-old Christopher Aaron Bishop Wehmeyer, who is charged with felony charges of resisting arrest and creating a substantial risk of death, according to jail records.

Wehmeyer fled from an Osage Beach police officer who attempted to pull Wehmeyer over for speeding on U.S. Highway 54. Carson then joined the chase before she veered off the road and crashed into a tree. Her car burst into flames and she died from her injuries.

Carson joined the police department in 2023 and is survived by her husband and six children, Osage Beach Police Chief Todd Davis said at a news conference.

Jail records did not indicate whether Wehmeyer had retained an attorney. In a phone call, a Camden County Jail official could not say whether the man had an attorney.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson said Carson “will not be forgotten,” in a proposition published online.