Chase ends in crash, killing 2

Authorities don't know identity of man who fled from trooper.

Two men died Monday evening in a two-car collision after one of the men led a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper on a chase through Franklin County and carjacked another vehicle in Miami County.

Richard L. Hall, 19, of rural Paola, died when the car he was driving was struck by another car driven by the chase suspect, whose identity authorities hadn't determined by Tuesday afternoon.

Hall and the suspect died at the intersection of 287th and KC roads in rural Miami County, where KHP trooper Don Hann said a two- county chase came to an end.

The unknown man had been pulled over for speeding in Franklin County, Hann said, but when the trooper stepped out of his vehicle, the man sped away.

During the pursuit the trooper learned that the 1998 Dodge pickup the man was driving had been reported stolen. The trooper followed the pickup onto K-68 highway in Miami County, where the driver lost control and drove into a plowed field.

The man then ran away from the crash, eluding the trooper, Hann said.

Authorities caught up with him, however, about 15 minutes later when he collided with Hall's vehicle after stealing another vehicle at gunpoint, said Miami County Sheriff Frank Kelly. The suspect stole a car that was parked in a driveway and occupied by a Belton, Mo., man and two children, who were visiting at the residence.

The man forced the car's occupants out of the car and then sped away on 287th, Kelly said, going about eight to 10 miles before he smashed into Hall's vehicle, killing them both at about 6 p.m., Kelly said.

The suspect remained nameless because authorities couldn't find any identification in his pickup or at the crash scene, Kelly said. Authorities were trying to identify the man through fingerprint analysis.

Copyright 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.