POLSON – A 28-year-old man who was being pursued by law enforcement officers for reportedly firing a gun at people in Kalispell died Thursday night after crashing his car and shooting himself on U.S. Highway 93 in Lake County, Lake County officials said.
Sheriff Don Bell says Flathead County officials called at about 11 p.m. to report a pursuit may be headed their way.
The driver, Dalton Leigh of Kalispell, was reportedly homicidal and suicidal.
Lake County officers were preparing to place spike strips on the highway to stop the vehicle, but it went into a ditch traveling about 60 mph, hit a driveway approach and stopped. Leigh was found dead in the car of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bell said.
Because the death happened while Leigh was being pursued by Lake County officers, the Flathead County coroner’s office is investigating the cause and manner of death. Bell declined to say Friday whether the man may have shot himself before or after the crash.