TURTLECREEK TWP., Ohio (WEWS) – A deputy was struck and killed trying to stop a suspect being chased by authorities in Warren County early Tuesday morning.
Police say Sgt. Brian Dulle, 36, of the Warren County Sheriff's Office was deploying stop sticks to try and stop the suspect around 2 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 42 and Utica Road in Turtlecreek Township when he was struck by the suspect's vehicle and killed instantly.
The suspect fled when police wanted to pull him over in Franklin just after 10 p.m. Monday night for a traffic violation. Police say he led them on a pursuit through Warren County that included Waynesville before it ended in Turtlecreek Township near the Lebanon city line.
Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims discussed the details of the crash in a Tuesday morning news conference and said the chase reached high rates of speed.
Sims said the suspect ran one sheriff's cruiser off the road during the chase and narrowly avoided hitting a second cruiser head-on. Police say he was driving down the wrong side of the roadway when he struck and killed Dulle.
The suspect ran from the vehicle following the crash and police called K-9 units and a helicopter to the area to help search for the suspect. They tracked the suspect down and took them into custody around four hours after the crash in the area of Drake and SR 122, approximately a mile to a mile and a half away from the scene of the crash.
The suspect's identity has not yet been released.
U.S. 42 was closed in both directions surrounding the area of the crash for several hours.
Sgt. Dulle is survived by his wife and three children, ages 10, 7 and 4. He had been with the Warren County Sheriff's Department since 1999, is a graduate of Edgewood High School and Miami University and was a member of the U.S. Army.
The Warren County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the incident.
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