A high school hockey player has died after a stray bullet struck him while he was riding in a car with his father on a busy highway.

Colin Brown, 16, and his dad Calvin were driving on Interstate 55 in St. Louis while on their way home from a hockey game at the Affton Ice Rink on November 23.

At around 10.30m near Loughborough and Bates, an unexpected bullet struck the car and hit the young player.

In a state of panic, Calvin drove to Broadway and Walnut in the City of St. Louis, and then called the police.

While officers arrived at the scene, the distressed father began shouting for help.

A young woman named Lily Paniucki, who was in the area for a friend’s birthday party, heard Calvin’s cries and quickly rushed to the pair.

Paniucki later told First Alert 4 she performed CPR on Colin for nearly 20 minutes but was not able to revive him.

The Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School student succumbed to his injuries on November 27 at the hospital.