Staff Reports

Fort Payne police say a man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday night after a chase ended in a crash.

On Tuesday, Davis said the deceased had been identified as David Taylor Mckee, 24, of DeKalb County.

Chief David Davis said at about 7:35 p.m. Sunday, a Fort Payne police officer made a traffic stop in the 200 block of Glenn Boulevard SW, but when the officer got out of his vehicle the driver pulled off and a pursuit began on Glenn Boulevard.

As the suspect vehicle got on Interstate 59, it struck an uninvolved vehicle and continued heading north. The driver got off I-59, exiting to Greenhill Boulevard NW.

The pursuit continued, on County Road 85 and to Highway 40. When the vehicle tried to turn onto U.S. 11 from Highway 117, control was lost at the vehicle went off the road, hitting a metal pole.

As officers arrived at the crash scene, Davis said, two passengers got out, telling officers the driver armed, and had a gunshot wound that was self-inflicted after the vehicle crashed.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fort Payne police and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the chase. Because both agencies were involved, the investigation is being handled by the Jacksonville State University Center for Applied Forensics and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation continues.

During the pursuit, Davis said, one Fort Payne police officer was involved in a single vehicle accident, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.