Man dead after shootout with police on Missouri interstate


              A St. Louis County police officer photographs a car surrounded by crime scene tape on Interstate 55 south of Interstate 270 Monday, July 24, 2017. Authorities say a carjacking suspect died Monday after a shootout with police on a busy stretch of interstate near St. Louis.  (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
A St. Louis County police officer photographs a car surrounded by crime scene tape on Interstate 55 south of Interstate 270 Monday, July 24, 2017. Authorities say a carjacking suspect died Monday after a shootout with police on a busy stretch of interstate near St. Louis. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Authorities say a carjacking suspect died Monday after a shootout with police on a busy stretch of interstate near St. Louis.

The incident began around 9 a.m. when a vehicle ran off the road near the intersection of Interstate 55 and Interstate 270. When someone tried to help the driver of the wrecked vehicle, he allegedly pointed a gun and demanded that person's car, St. Louis County police spokesman Shawn McGuire said.

The suspect drove off on I-55, leading to a chase with police. McGuire says spike sticks were used to disable the car, but that the suspect shot at police. Officers returned gunfire, and the shootout prompted police to close a busy section of I-55 in both directions, McGuire said.

Police were unsure whether the driver had been shot, so they brought in a SWAT team and an armored vehicle. The teams determined the suspect was dead. Television footage of the area showed several police vehicles surrounding the car and the SWAT team approaching the vehicle.

No details about the driver or what caused his death were immediately released. Police said more information would be released at an afternoon news conference.

Traffic backed up for miles in both directions along I-55. Officials re-routed traffic to alternative roadways.

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