WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A 59-year-old Wichita man died following a brief police chase that ended in a rollover in south Wichita. It happened in Osie and Washington around 8:30 on a Thursday.
The Wichita Police Department told KSN News that officers were investigating burglaries near Hydraulic and Wassall and began chasing a suspicious car that may be involved.
“An officer spotted that vehicle in that area and saw it commit a traffic violation in Washington and Wassall,” said Officer Trevor Macy, WPD. “The officer followed the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop in Pawnee and Washington. The suspect immediately accelerated away from the officer heading northbound left of the centerline onto Washington.
The WPD said the officer launched a pursuit but quickly called it off. The car continued north on Washington at high speed.
“Just north of Funston, the suspect vehicle attempted to pass another vehicle on the right. They hit the other vehicle from the side which caused the suspect vehicle to go out of control and roll over, where it stopped in the 1700 block of S. Washington,” Macy said.
Macy said the driver escaped from the overturned vehicle but collapsed behind a truck. He was transported by EMS to the hospital, where he died.
The WPD is awaiting an autopsy to determine cause of death.
The passenger in the overturned car, a 49-year-old man from Wichita, was seen by EMS but refused treatment. The Kansas Highway Patrol lists him as having received “possible injury”.
The driver of the car that was struck from the side, a 67-year-old man from Oklahoma, was also listed as having received “possible injury” from the KHP.
The KHP are investigating the brief police chase and incident for “accountability” and “transparency”.
The KHP reported that this incident was classified as a police chase. We have contacted the KHP to clarify this information. The KHP now say it should not be listed as a police pursuit and they are working to correct the information.
On Thursday afternoon, the WPD released body camera footage of the chase:
The video above shows an officer turning on his lights and sirens after passing Pawnee and Washington. The officer broke off the chase after about 15 seconds when the vehicle began driving at high speed.’
Read the department’s police pursuit policy here or below:
KSN News will update this story on the air and online as more information becomes available.
