Pursuit ends in deadly head-on collision killing two

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All southbound traffic on East US Highway 287 was shut down between Walnut Grove Road and Rex Odom Drive following a pursuit that ended in a deadly accident on January 8, 2016.

ELLIS COUNTY — The Ellis County Sheriff’s Office was notified by Waxahachie Police Department at 1:04 p.m. Jan. 8, 2016 to be on the lookout for a white van stolen out of the Academy parking lot in Waxahachie.

A GPS indicator on the van was pinging off of FM 879 near FM 1722 and Sheriff’s Office patrol units responded to that area. A patrol deputy observed the suspect vehicle on FM 879 and turned around on it.

The suspect vehicle fled and a pursuit was initiated at 1:12 p.m. The suspect vehicle fled on FM 879 and ran one patrol unit off of the roadway, with no injuries incurred. The suspect vehicle continued onto U.S. Highway 287 northbound, with Sheriff's Office and Waxahachie PD units in pursuit.

In the area of the Mid-Way Airport, the suspect vehicle cut over to the southbound lanes but continued northbound in the southbound lanes. The pursuing patrol units continued in the northbound lanes of the highway. The suspect vehicle struck a Dodge pickup head-on in the southbound lanes in the 5400 block of East US Highway 287 in Midlothian. Both the driver of the suspect vehicle and the Dodge pickup were killed in the crash. Neither vehicle were carrying passengers.

All southbound traffic on East US Highway 287 was shut down between Walnut Grove Road and Rex Odom Drive following the accident. The highway was reopened at approximately 4:08 p.m.

No names are being released at this time pending notification of relatives. Justice of the Peace Steve Egan was contacted to pronounce the deceased, who were transported to the Dallas County medical examiner’s office.

The Midlothian Police Department crash reconstruction team is working the accident investigation. The investigation is ongoing; additional details are not available for release at this time.