Police: Pursuit ends in shooting

Investigators are trying to learn more about why a man led police on a chase and then shot himself and crashed on the southside.

Police were called to a home on East Main Street near Greenwood just before 10 a.m. Tuesday when a homeowner reported finding a man on his property. The resident’s dog began chasing the man, who then ran from the home through a cornfield, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report.

Deputies began searching for a silver truck seen leaving the area, and spotted the vehicle getting onto Interstate 65. When a deputy tried to stop the truck on I-65, the driver instead sped up and got off on County Line Road, heading east. The driver threw items out of the truck, and then pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the deputy, the report said.

The truck headed north on Arlington Avenue, drove off the road, hitting and breaking a utility pole, which caused an explosion. The truck drove back onto the road, and then made a sharp left turn, driving into a tree, the report said.

Multiple officers and deputies approached the vehicle and found the driver, who police have not identified, face down, bleeding heavily from his head, the report said.

Investigators have determined the man shot himself at the end of the pursuit, Sheriff Doug Cox said. He suffered a life-threatening injury and was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis, Cox said.

Inside the vehicle, police found a revolver with two shell casings, which had been fired recently. They also found a cellphone and wallet in the vehicle, the report said.

The sheriff’s office is investigating.