ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A St. Louis County man is awaiting trial for allegedly causing a high-speed collision in September 2023 that claimed another man’s life.

According to the St. Louis County Police Department’s probable cause statement, the crash happened just after 11 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2023 , at the intersection of Halls Ferry and Lucas-Hunt roads.

Police said the victim was driving a Lexus sedan northbound on Halls Ferry and attempted to make a left turn onto westbound Lucas-Hunt when a white Ford pickup truck smashed into the passenger side of the vehicle.

The driver and backseat passenger were both rushed to the hospital. The driver had suffered serious injury. The front-seat passenger, Lawrence Pruitt, was killed in the collision . Pruitt was 68.

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Police said they found the driver of the Ford pickup, Paris McPeters, picking up tools near the crash scene. McPeters said he couldn’t remember where he was going and told investigators he should have been traveling south on Halls Ferry Road.

Police reviewed crash data from McPeters’ truck and said the data revealed McPeters was traveling 66 miles per hour at the time of the crash. The speed limit on Halls Ferry Road was 35 mph.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged McPeters with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault. He’s also been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in a separate case after being caught with an assault-style rifle, a handgun, and more than 300 rounds of ammunition.

McPeters remains jailed on a $100,000 cash-only bond. He’s due in court for a bond review hearing on this case on July 25.

McPeters has prior convictions this century for unlawful use of a weapon, domestic assault, resisting arrest, drug trafficking, drug possession, and drug distribution.

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