Assistant St. Louis prosecutor dies in car crash

An assistant prosecutor in the office of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney died after his car was involved in a fiery crash on an interstate highway.

James Heitman, 32, died as a result of the accident on Interstate 270 in St. Louis County Wednesday. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said vehicles had stopped for traffic when Heitman’s Toyota Camry switched lanes, unaware traffic had stopped.

The Camry hit the car in front of it, setting of a chain-reaction accident involving three other vehicles. Heitman’s car and two others caught fire. He was taken to a hospital where he died a short time later.

One of the other drivers, a 61-year-old woman, was treated for a minor injury.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said in a statement she was “shocked and saddened” by Heitman’s death.

Gardner, the city’s first Black prosecutor and a Democrat, is being targeted for removal by Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Bailey’s says that too many cases, including homicides, are not being prosecuted by Gardner’s understaffed office. Gardner has responded by calling Bailey’s removal effort politically and racially motivated.

A court hearing over the removal is scheduled for September.