JEFFERSON COUNTY • A standoff between police and a man they say was on a suicide mission as he shot at officers Monday after carjacking a vehicle ended with the suspect dead.

Jerrod Kershaw, 30, of the 1500 block of Bertha Lane in Pacific, died after a gunbattle with police. When his body was found, he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

The incident began around 9 a.m. when St. Louis County police officers responded to a call about a one-car crash near the interchange of Interstates 270 and 55. It appeared a car ran off the road and others were trying to help the driver, police said.

When one good Samaritan approached the car, Kershaw held him at gunpoint with a shotgun and handgun and demanded his car. Kershaw then carjacked a different car before heading south on I-55, police said.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said Kershaw stole the second vehicle after he saw the first car had a stick shift — and he couldn’t drive it.

St. Louis County officers spotted Kershaw in the second stolen car and tried to stop the vehicle. Shots may have been exchanged during the pursuit, but details were not available.