Family Claims Missouri Teen Killed by Cop Car, Then Police Alleged Hit-and-Run
The family of Persephone Berger, 16, is demanding answers after being told their daughter died in a hit-and-run, only to later learn she was struck by a sheriff's vehicle.
A Missouri high school student died after being struck by a St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office vehicle, her family alleges, and they claim authorities initially presented the incident as a hit-and-run.
Persephone Berger, 16, was found in the roadway around 3:45 a.m. on Saturday. According to the sheriff's office, a deputy did not see Berger in the road and subsequently struck her.
Berger had reportedly left a party and was on her way home when a witness discovered her in the road and alerted authorities. Her father was initially informed by law enforcement that his daughter had died in a hit-and-run, according to her aunt, Kimberly Cabuchola.
A preliminary autopsy report indicated that Berger's injuries were consistent with being struck by the deputy's vehicle.
“All they had to do was say ‘Our officer accidentally ran over your child and she died,’” Cabuchola told KMOV. “That’s all they had to do. But no. To try and cover it up and to lie to our family? Why? Why would they need to do that? We could have forgiven that officer.”
Cabuchola expressed frustration over the delay in her brother being contacted by authorities. "The lies… not calling the right people in,” she stated. “Not reaching out to my brother for three days. That wasn’t an accident. The only [person] that contacted him within that three-day [period] was the coroner, to tell us that she was so badly mangled that we needed to have a closed coffin for her.”
St. Francois County Sheriff Jeff Crites has not commented on the family's claims of a cover-up, stating that he was not the responding officer.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is conducting an independent investigation into the incident. Toxicology and autopsy results are pending.
Tributes have poured in for Berger, who her family described as a “caring and compassionate young woman” and an avid Harry Potter fan. Students at West County High School held a vigil and wore pink in her memory. Her sister, Allison Berger, shared her grief online, stating, “I love you so much Persephone and we miss you more than you would ever even imagine.”
