A 19-year-old from St. Charles was driving "carelessly and imprudently" when he died while riding his dirt bike on Highway 63 with no helmet and no lights, police said this morning.

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Jesse Davis died in the middle of the roadway Saturday night after being run over by four vehicles, authorities said.

Davis was heading northbound just north of the Route AC exit shortly before 11:40 p.m. when he changed lanes and struck a Pontiac Grand Am driven by Travis Odle, 19, a University of Missouri-Columbia freshman from Arnold. Three other vehicles ran over him after that, and two others ran over his motorcycle.

Early reports indicate the wreck was Davis’ fault. "At this point, it seems he was driving carelessly and imprudently," Columbia police Eastern District Commander Zim Schwartze said this morning.

Police aren’t sure why Davis was in Columbia or why he was operating the dirt bike on the highway. Dirt bikes, which aren’t equipped with lights, aren’t licensed for use on Missouri roadways.

"We’re starting to hear bits and pieces" about why he was in town and "why this even occurred," Schwartze said, declining to release more information. Results of a blood alcohol test are pending.

Other drivers involved, either by striking Davis or his bike, were: Robert Flynn, 25, of Brighton, Mass.; Shelby Hall, 19, an MU student from Ballwin; Samantha Fiock, 22, of Kirkwood; Richard "Cody" Stringer, 23, of Columbia; and Charles Hammerschmidt, 22, of Columbia.

Fiock said she was told Davis was already dead when her Honda Civic ran over him. She takes comfort in that, but the memories are still vivid.

"I had just left the exit ramp, and I noticed there were cars slamming on their brakes. I couldn’t tell why," Fiock said this morning. "There was something in the road. I came on it pretty fast. Then I hit whatever it was in the road and pulled over."

She later learned it was Davis’ body. "I was in shock," she said. "I do know it wasn’t my fault and there was nothing I could have done."

Stringer also said there’s nothing he could have done to avoid striking Davis’ dirt bike. "I got to the bottom of the ramp, and I saw stuff strewn across the road," the MU graduate student said. "There was no way to avoid it. I hit my brakes, but it didn’t make much difference."

Stringer’s Subaru skidded off the road on top of the motorcycle. This morning, he didn’t remember much except that he sat on the side of the road until 3 a.m. as police questioned witnesses.

In June, the Missouri State Water Patrol cited Davis for towing a skier without a mirror or an observer. He was also serving probation for possession of marijuana.