Young father suffers severe brain injuries in crash with man fleeing Granite City police

Devyn Trampe was about to start a new job and he and his wife had just bought a new home to share with their two children in St. Jacob.

“They moved in Halloween day,” said his mother, Kelly Trampe, of Troy.

But on Nov. 14, the young family’s bright future was halted when the retired U.S. Army military police officer was critically injured in a crash allegedly caused by a St. Louis man fleeing Granite City police.

Trampe, 31, is still recovering from severe brain injuries he suffered that November morning when Ronnell L. Welch allegedly drove a stolen pickup truck up to 85 mph in an attempt to elude a Granite City police officer and crashed into Trampe’s pickup truck, according to federal and state court records.

The crash occurred on Illinois 3 at the intersection with Rock Road. Trampe had just pulled out of a nearby oil terminal where he expected to get a job and was awaiting a start date, his mother said.

Authorities investigating the crash that incapacitated Trampe filed charges against Welch last week in Madison County.

Welch, 39, is charged with four counts:

▪ Aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer for allegedly fleeing from a Granite City police officer who had given Welch visual and audible signals to stop, according to the charging documents.

Police spotted Welch on Illinois 3 after receiving a report of a stolen vehicle and burglary.

“When police attempted to stop the offender, his speed began to accelerate attempting to flee from law enforcement. Police paced Welch driving approximately 85 miles per hour in a zone that had a 55 mile per hour speed limit,” according to a petition filed in federal court in St. Louis by a federal probation officer who was citing a Granite City police report.

Trampe’s red Dodge Ram was struck by the red 2001 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Welch and Trampe was ejected from his truck.

Welch was handcuffed and moved away from his vehicle when the truck caught on fire.

▪ Aggravated reckless driving for allegedly fleeing from police at “high rate of speed” and entering the Illinois 3 and Rock Road intersection without yielding to oncoming traffic and causing great bodily harm to Trampe, the charging documents state.

▪ Offenses relating to motor vehicles for allegedly possessing the Silverado when not entitled to it.

▪ Residential burglary for allegedly entering a woman’s home in the 3000 block of Myrtle Avenue in Granite City with the intent to commit a theft, according to the charging documents.

Granite City police had been called to the home for the report of a stolen pickup that just occurred on Nov. 14, according to the federal petition. The owner of the truck told police that Welch was an “old friend” who had spent the night. She saw him on her surveillance camera enter her residence and her Silverado pickup truck. The woman told police that she believes he had taken keys to the home the night before.

The burglary victim also stated that a jar full of about $200 in coins and a Bulova watch worth about $371 was stolen. These items were recovered from the crash scene, the records state.

Welch gave police a false name at the crash scene but officers determined he was lying and Welch admitted his identity, according to the federal report.

Welch is in federal custody after federal probation officers accused him of violating the terms of his supervised release. He had been sentenced to 42 months in prison sentence in 2019 after pleading guilty to felon in possession of a firearm. He was considered an “absconder” from supervision for allegedly violating terms of his probation.

Welch left his place of employment in July and did not report this to the federal probation office and he did not return to a halfway house in St. Louis as required on July 23, federal court records allege.

Illinois State Police investigated the crash.

Major Nick Novacich, spokesman for the Granite City Police Department, has not returned calls to the Belleville News-Democrat.

Reaction to the charges

For Kelly Trampe, the Madison County charges bring some solace to the family.

“It’s a small piece of comfort,” she said. “We are elated that the suspect will be charged and will face a judge and jury at some point.”

Welch’s bond was set at $500,000 in Madison County and he is being represented by the public defender’s office. Mary Copeland, the public defender in Madison County, did not return a call from the BND.

“Attempting to flee from police is always a bad choice, and in Madison County, that choice will result in additional charges,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement after the charges were filed. “We pray for the recovery of the victim, Devyn Trampe, and we’re thankful that he has a loving, caring family beside him.”

As far as waiting until April to file charges, the state’s attorney’s office said it was aware the Welch was being held in federal custody and prosecutors were monitoring Devyn Trampe’s condition.

Devyn Trampe’s recovery

To keep family and friends updated on Devyn Trampe’s condition, the family started a page on the CaringBridge website.

He was discharged from the hospital and returned home in March after being injured in November.

Kelly Trampe said her daughter-in-law, Amanda, and her grandchildren, Jonathan, 12, and Lillie, 3, are “coping well” with taking care of Devyn Trampe.

“They’re doing very well. It’s a learning curve,” she said.

Lillie remains an active little girl, she added.

“She just runs into the room and says, ‘Calm down Dad. Calm down Dad,’” Kelly Trampe said of Lillie.

Devyn Trampe, who served six years in the U.S. Army, including a tour in South Korea, suffered two types of brain injuries in the crash.

“He has the blunt force trauma brain injury and he has what’s called an anoxic brain injury where his brain was without oxygen for several minutes,” Kelly Trampe said.

Devyn Trampe, who was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital after the crash, is being treated for what’s known as a “disorder of consciousness.”

“He’s still unable to communicate,” his mother said. “His eyes are open. He does look around.”

Doctors measure a patient’s condition on a scale of recovery from brain injuries.

“He’s about midrange in that but he is slowly progressing,” said Kelly Trampe, who is supervisor in a radiology department at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. “As long as we’re able to see progress, we know that we’re still winning a battle.

“Any progress is good.”

Devyn Trampe suffered other injuries in the crash, including broken ribs and a punctured lung, but his mother said he has recovered for those.

To help the family, Lacey Bobowski, a longtime friend of Devyn Trampe, has started a GoFundMe page.

Bobowski, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, has known Devyn since they were in the first grade in Troy. She left Troy in the sixth grade but has maintained a friendship with Devyn through the years.

“The No. 1 thing that I use to describe him is that if you know him, you love him,” Bobowski said. “There is not a single soul on this Earth that doesn’t love him. He is an extremely caring, loving person.

“Something so horrible shouldn’t have happened to someone so good. It’s really heartbreaking.”