By
Kim Bell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/14/2008
UPDATED: 3:50 p.m.
GRANITE CITY -- A man whose car ran out of gas early today was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, and his 9-month-old son was critically injured, police say.
About 12:05 a.m. today, a fast-moving tow truck smashed into their car, then fled. The crash happened on West Pontoon Road, about 150 yards west of Briarcliff Drive in Granite City.
Seven hours later, police executed a search warrant at a trailer home near Edwardsville and arrested the man they believe was driving that tow truck.
The tow truck driver was identified as Mark Alan Ikerman, 43, of the 2900 block of Sand Road in Edwardsville. He works for Manheim Auto Auction in Granite City.
Ikerman was charged with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, one count of leaving the scene of an accident and one count of failure to report an accident. His bond was set at $100,000 and he is being held at the Granite City police department's jail, awaiting transport to the Madison County Jail.
The man who was killed was Donald Lee Legens, 34, of the 2800 block of Iowa Street, Granite City. He died of massive head trauma. The name of his son has not been released.
The trouble began before midnight Thursday when Legens' Kia Sportage, a small SUV, ran out of gas. His vehicle was stopped in the roadway, police say. He walked to a gas station, carrying his son, to get more gasoline.
When he returned to his vehicle, he put the boy in the baby's carseat. The crash happened as the father stood outside to refuel his car.
"We're not 100 percent sure what hit him, the tow truck or his own car," said Granite City Police Major Jeff Connor.
The boy was in a carseat properly fastened in the backseat, but the force of the crash pushed the rear of the car into the front seat, Connor said.
The boy was taken by helicopter to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis, where he was in critical condition, Connor said.
The boy's father was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police credit a witness at the scene with helping police track down the driver of the tow truck. That witness followed the tow truck several miles toward Edwardsville, saw the man go into a trailer there and called police.
Police went to the door of the trailer home and knocked, but got no answer. When they returned with a search warrant about 7 a.m. today, police found the man in his bedroom. Police matched evidence left at the scene with the tow truck parked outside that trailer.
The mother of the injured boy was not with her family at the time of the crash. She is about six-months pregnant.
Mark Alan Ikerman (handout)
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Originally Posted by Tebssis
