COLUMBIA — Freshman Mizzou linebacker JJ Bush was arrested late Monday night after he allegedly fled from police on East Broadway, according to court documents.
Bush, 18, was booked into the Boone County Jail early Tuesday and faces charges of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention, a class D felony, and operating a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, a class B misdemeanor, according to court records. He has since bonded out of jail.
Police saw a white Ford Mustang traveling around 50 mph on Trimble Road around 9:55 p.m. Monday, where the speed limit is 35 mph, according to a probable cause statement. Trimble Road is a short road between Conley Road and East Broadway in east Columbia next to several shopping centers and restaurants.
Police started following the vehicle and reported that it rapidly accelerated beyond the speed limit when it turned onto East Broadway, heading east in the direction of Old 63, according to the probable cause statement. Police estimated the vehicle reached speeds of 80 mph in the area, where the speed limit is 40 mph, according to the statement.
The officer activated their emergency lights and sirens in the area of East Broadway and Trimble Road and pursued the vehicle on East Broadway for over 20 seconds, during which the vehicle changed lanes to overtake other vehicles, according to the probable cause statement.
Police stopped the driver on East Broadway at the intersection with Old 63, where vehicles in all three westbound lanes were stopped at a red light, according to the probable cause statement. A video obtained by KOMU 8 News shows at least six law enforcement vehicles stopped with a vehicle matching the description of Bush’s vehicle in the area at the time of the traffic stop.
Police arrested Bush, the driver of the vehicle, at the scene, according to court documents. Bush allegedly told officers that he did not see the police vehicle until its emergency lights were activated, according to court documents. The officer wrote in the probable cause statement that the emergency lights were activated for over 20 seconds before the vehicle came to a stop.
Bush allegedly said he did not continue to speed after the officer activated their emergency lights and said “that’s just how my car is,” according to the probable cause statement. He allegedly admitted to going between 80 mph and 90 mph and said it was a bad decision, according to the statement.
The probable cause statement indicated there was another person in the vehicle while Bush was driving.
A statement KOMU 8 News obtained from Mizzou football head coach Eli Drinkwitz said Bush is suspended from the team.
“We are disappointed in JJ’s actions,” Drinkwitz said in the statement. “He is indefinitely suspended from the team as the legal process plays out.”
