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Family of dead teen who was struck by deputy's car demands answers

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Cite

Freiman, J. (2026, October 8). Family of dead teen who was struck by deputy's car demands answers. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missouri-teen-persephone-berger-struck-deputy-family-answers/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

CBS News · collected 2026-10-08 · by Jordan Freiman

Quick Summary

Persephone Berger, a 16-year-old described as compassionate and enthusiastic, died after being struck by a sheriff’s deputy’s car in St. Francois County, Missouri, early Saturday morning. The incident was initially characterized by authorities as a hit-and-run, delaying notification to her family for days, which has led to accusations of deception from Berger's aunt, Kimberly Cabuchola. An independent investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol is underway alongside an inquiry by the sheriff’s department into why Berger was found on the road before being hit.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Saturday, March 4 at about 3:43 am, Persephone Berger, a 16-year-old from Missouri, was struck and killed by a sheriff's deputy's car while lying on the road near Park Hills, which is about 65 miles south of St. Louis. The deputy did not see her when responding to a report of an unconscious person on the street and hit Berger with his vehicle; she was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed no pre-existing injuries but confirmed injuries consistent with being struck by a car, pending further toxicology results.

The St Francois County Sheriff's Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are investigating both the circumstances leading up to Berger lying on the road and the incident itself. Her family has alleged that it took several days for them to learn she was hit by the deputy's vehicle instead of in a hit-and-run, as initially reported.

Written for “Teen Death By Deputy Car Strike” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Teen Death By Deputy Car Strike
Crime & Law · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 32 claims Outlet record 68/100
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
CBS News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBS News · 4280 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jordan Freiman
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 It will be updated.
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🔮 The operator then told Zach Hickerson to begin CPR and gave him instructions on how to perform chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth until emergency medical services could arrive.
🔮 " The Missouri State Highway Patrol will lead an independent investigation into the crash while the sheriff's office is still investigating what led up to Berger being found on the road prior to being hit by the deputy, officials from both agencies said.
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🔮 Vanore said they believe some of the videos involved include "play-acting" while other events "could be real."
Also by Jordan Freiman
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Jordan Freiman →

Topics

CBS News Missouri St. Francois County St. Louis the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department

Subjects

Berger PERSON · 7× CBS News ORG · 2× Cabuchola PERSON · 2× the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department ORG · 2× Kimberly Cabuchola PERSON · 1× Missouri GPE · 1× Persephone Berger PERSON · 1× St. Francois County GPE · 1× St. Louis GPE · 1× The Missouri State Highway Patrol ORG · 1×

Narrative

" The Missouri State Highway Patrol will lead an independent investigation into the crash while the sheriff's office is still investigating what led up to Berger being found on the road prior to being hit by the deputy, officials from both agencies said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 " The Missouri State Highway Patrol will lead an independent investigation into the crash while the sheriff's office is still investigating what led up to Berger being found on the road prior to being hit by the deputy, officials from both agencies said.
2026-10-09 · CBS News
Family of dead teen who was struck by deputy's car demands answers · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 3 hedged)

The family of a teenager who died over the weekend near St. Louis is demanding to know why it took days for them to learn she had been struck by a sheriff's deputy's vehicle, alleging authorities initially framed the incident as a hit-and-run. asserted
authorities → die → hit
Persephone Berger, 16, was hit by a deputy who was responding to a call for a person who was unresponsive and lying in the road early Saturday morning in Missouri's St. Francois County, according to a statement from the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department that was released Monday. uncertain
that → hit → Department
The deputy arrived around 3:40 a.m. and saw the vehicle of the person who made the call with its hazard lights on. asserted
lights → arrive → call
While approaching, the deputy didn't see Berger lying on the road and hit her, the sheriff's office said in its statement. asserted
office → approach → statement
She was pronounced dead at the scene. asserted
She → pronounce → scene
Preliminary findings from an autopsy found Berger had injuries consistent with being hit by the deputy's vehicle and found no evidence of any previously existing injuries. asserted
Berger → find → injuries
Officials were still waiting on the results of the toxicology report, and the sheriff's department did not indicate if a cause of death had been determined. asserted
cause → wait → death
It was not clear why Berger was lying in the road unresponsive. asserted
Berger → lie → road
Berger was described in her obituary as "a caring and compassionate young woman, always ready with a smile and a kind word for everyone she met." asserted
she → describe → everyone
She was also a "passionate member of her school choir" and "filled the halls with her beautiful voice and infectious enthusiasm," it said. asserted
it → fill → voice
Berger's aunt, Kimberly Cabuchola, says her niece snuck out of the house to go to a neighborhood party and was returning home when she was hit. asserted
she → say → party
Now, she wants to know why it took so long to learn about her niece getting hit by the deputy. asserted
niece → want → deputy
"They blatantly lied to us and said she was involved in a hit-and-run," Cabuchola told CBS News. asserted
Cabuchola → lie → News
She also said nobody contacted Berger's father about his daughter's death except for the coroner. asserted
nobody → say → coroner
The sheriff's office in its statement insisted the deputy never left the scene and immediately notified his supervisor. asserted
deputy → insist → supervisor
It also said the incident was not the result of what it called "false social media claims of a vehicle pursuit. uncertain
it → say → pursuit
" The Missouri State Highway Patrol will lead an independent investigation into the crash while the sheriff's office is still investigating what led up to Berger being found on the road prior to being hit by the deputy, officials from both agencies said. asserted
officials → lead → agencies
"I do not have a timeline from the sheriff's office of what they talked to the family about or when," Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Dallas Thompson told CBS News. asserted
Thompson → have → News
The deputy involved in the incident has not been identified and his status was unclear. uncertain
status → involve → incident
The St. Francois County Sheriff's Department did not respond to CBS News' request for comment. asserted
Department → respond → comment
Cabuchola said the family is "not going to stop until they tell the truth." asserted
they → say → truth
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