🚨This story has quite an update. Turns out cops lied and there was no unconscious person in the roadway. The updated story is here: Name: Persephone Berger Age: 16 Gender: Female Race: White Date: 10/03/2026 Location: 5300 block of Davis Crossing Road City: Unincorporated St. Francois County County: St. Francois State: Missouri Agency: St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department Officer(s): Not Disclosed Cause of Death: Vehicle Event: Pedestrian killed by sheriff’s deputy’s vehicle On 10/03/2026, at approximately 3:43 a.m., 16-year-old Persephone Berger was struck and killed by a St. Francois County sheriff’s deputy driving on Davis Crossing Road near her home. The Sheriff’s Department says deputies had been dispatched for a report of an unresponsive person lying in the roadway, that a caller was waiting nearby with hazard lights activated, and that the responding deputy did not see Berger before striking her. The deputy remained at the scene and notified a supervisor. Sheriff Jeffrey Crites has since confirmed that the deputy’s vehicle struck Berger and said the deputy was approximately 23 years old and had been with the department about three months. Berger’s family disputes crucial parts of the Sheriff’s Department account. Her aunt, Kimberly Berger Cabuchola, said Persephone had slipped out of her home to attend a small gathering nearby and was walking home when she was killed. The family says an eyewitness who personally knew Persephone saw her walking normally along Davis Crossing Road only minutes before the collision and saw no vehicle stopped with hazard lights and no person attending to an unconscious girl. According to the family’s account of the eyewitness statement, the witness was outside tending to dogs and saw a St. Francois County sheriff’s SUV traveling approximately 65 to 70 mph without emergency lights or sirens. The witness then heard an extremely loud impact, followed by the sound of tires screeching as the deputy stopped farther down the road. The witness reportedly saw the deputy get out and walk back toward the location of the impact. The witness did not call 911 because law enforcement was already at the scene and additional deputies subsequently arrived. The reported speed and the witness’s account that Berger was walking immediately before the collision have not yet been independently confirmed by investigators. Cabuchola said deputies initially went to Persephone’s father, Jarrad Berger, and told him his daughter had been killed in a hit-and-run. The family consequently announced publicly on Saturday that Persephone had been the victim of a hit-and-run and sought information about the driver. First Alert 4 has now independently reported the family’s account that the Sheriff’s Department initially described the death to Berger’s father as a hit-and-run and that the family did not learn directly from the department that a deputy had struck her until Monday afternoon. Sheriff Crites told the station he was not present Saturday and could not say precisely what the family had been told. He said a hit-and-run had initially been considered possible, but the preliminary autopsy subsequently indicated that Berger had been struck only by the deputy’s vehicle. The family says the eyewitness had already told them Saturday that a deputy struck Persephone, leaving them questioning why authorities had not disclosed the deputy’s involvement. Cabuchola said that after she publicly posted that the family had learned a deputy was responsible, the roadway was washed down before Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators examined the scene. The Leadwood Fire Protection District has independently confirmed that its personnel were initially dispatched at 3:44 a.m. but were told by a sheriff’s deputy that they could return to service without making contact with Berger. The fire district also confirmed that it returned later Saturday and washed down the roadway after a citizen requested assistance because of the condition of the road. The Sheriff’s Department did not contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol about the circumstances of Berger’s death until Sunday. MSHP was subsequently asked to conduct an independent crash investigation and is performing crash reconstruction and interviewing witnesses. The Sheriff’s Department has no dashboard-camera video. Sheriff Crites said the deputy’s body camera was activated and has been turned over to MSHP. A preliminary autopsy found no evidence of physical injuries predating the collision and found injuries consistent with Berger being struck by the deputy’s vehicle. Toxicology and the final autopsy remain pending. Sheriff Crites has said the deputy attempted to maneuver around Berger and that the collision was not connected to a vehicle pursuit. Berger’s family maintains that she had been walking home and was not lying unconscious in the roadway before the deputy struck her. SOURCE LINKS firstalert4.com/2026/10/07/f… firstalert4.com/2026/10/05/1… mymoinfo.com/leadwood-fire-o… mymoinfo.com/berger-struck-b… reddit.com/r/StLouis/