St. Louis man pleads guilty to fatal accident involving 2-year-old

ST. LOUIS, MO — On August 25, a St. Louis man admitted to killing a two-year-old child and injuring others. Leon Russell pleaded guilty in St. Louis County Circuit Court to fleeing police, driving a stolen car while his driver’s license was suspended, and assault.

On April 22, 2022, near West Florissant Avenue and Hudson Road, St. Louis County police officers attempted to stop him while he was driving a stolen, disfellowshipped car.

The car he was driving had just been stolen in St. Louis. He drove away from the police, dodged the spiked stripes and drove very fast. He drove the wrong direction, interfered with oncoming traffic, ran red lights, and failed to stop at stop signs.

He went off westbound Interstate 270 at Florissant Road and crashed into a car that had stopped to make a turn as he was traveling at over 90 miles per hour. The people inside, a woman and her two-year-old child, were seriously injured. The mother is now paralyzed and has burns over 80% of her body from the accident. Jace Richardson, the child, has died. After hitting her, Russell lost control of his car and crashed into another car, seriously injuring another victim.

The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office suggested a 25-year prison sentence. The court set the sentencing date for August 31 to give the victims’ relatives enough time to appear in court.