(Huntington County, IN)-A man from Huntington led Troopers from the Indiana State Police on a short vehicle pursuit in a stolen vehicle early this morning, only moments after it had been reported by the victim.
At approximately 6:30 a.m., a blue 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer was reported stolen from a residence inside the Huntington City limits. At approximately 6:54 a.m., Master Trooper Jamie Hotchkiss saw a vehicle in the area of Parkview Huntington Hospital and the YMCA which matched the description. When he was able to get in behind the vehicle, Hotchkiss saw that the license plate also matched that from the stolen vehicle.
Two additional Troopers joined Hotchkiss on US 24 in the area of Old Fort Wayne Road, and when they activated their emergency lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle, the driver, later identified as 31 year old Tyler Wayne Sellers sped away eastbound on US 24.
Sellers drove for a few miles before he turned around and headed back westbound on US 24. Another Trooper placed stop sticks in the roadway near County Road 200 E, and when Sellers drove over them, the tires began to deflate. The vehicle was then driven through the median and into the eastbound lanes of US 24 before colliding with a Huntington City Police car at approximately 7:03 a.m. Both vehicles came to a stop in the driving lane and outside shoulder of eastbound US 24.
Sellers was transported to a local hospital with what was identified as a gunshot wound to his head. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital and an autopsy was performed thereafter.
The Allen County Coroner’s Office has ruled the cause of Sellers’ death as gunshot wound of the head and the manner of death as suicide. The Huntington Police officer was not injured in the crash.
