Truck driver rams gym during 'really bad' domestic abuse case, Maryville police say

Aug. 29--A man deliberately rammed a gym twice during a domestic dispute with a woman but no serious injuries were reported, police said.

The man was captured in a cornfield after a short pursuit on Wednesday, Maryville Police Rob Carpenter said an email on Thursday.

"We had a domestic abuse situation go really bad," Carpenter said.

It all started about 2:43 p.m. Wednesday when a woman exited a moving vehicle seeking help in the 2500 block of Vandalia Street, also known as Illinois 159.

The suspect then drove his truck recklessly into the parking lot of the CrossFit 557 gym at 2537 Vandalia St.

"After purposely ramming the truck into several parked cars, he drove the truck completely into the front of the building ... where several people were standing. He then backed the truck out of the building and drove it around to the back where he rammed the rear of the business," Carpenter stated.

When the truck was at the rear of the building, a Maryville officer tried to arrest the man but he fled and nearly ran over the officer, Carpenter said.

After a short pursuit, the truck driver exited Formosa Road in Troy and went into a cornfield, where he was arrested.

Carpenter said charges are pending and the case will be presented to prosecutors on Friday.

The man, whose name was not released because he has not been formally charged, was being held in the Madison County Jail.

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