A police pursuit in White County, Tenn., that injured three lawmen ended with officers firing at the fleeing driver.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the driver died and an autopsy was being performed this morning.
The three officers, injured when the driver crashed into their vehicles, have been released from the hospital, TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland said. The agency was asked by District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway to investigate the officer-involved shooting, she said.
The chase began in DeKalb County, Tenn., around 4:30 p.m. CDT when Smithville Police Department officers tried to stop a pickup truck hauling a trailer, Niland said in a news release.
The driver refused to stop, continuing into White County, where deputies and members of the Sparta Police Department joined the chase. As the pursuit continued, the driver crashed into the rear and sides of several police vehicles, Niland said.
Somewhere along the way the trailer’s tires went flat and some of the trailer’s load fell into the median on state Highway 111.
As the driver continued his flight, a White County deputy and a Sparta officer fired at the truck, which veered off the highway, went down an embankment and came to a stop among some trees, Niland said.
The driver died at the scene and had not been positively identified as of mid-morning, Niland said.
TBI Special Agents are continuing to investigate at the scene and interview witnesses, and the case remains active and ongoing, she said. The completed investigative file will be turned over to Dunaway.