The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said an overnight police chase ended with the driver barricading himself inside the vehicle and taking his own life.
According to Sheriff Ken Mascara, at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Port St. Lucie Police Department received a call regarding a suicidal male who was attempting to leave a home in Port St. Lucie.
While attempting to stop the vehicle, the driver fled from Port St. Lucie police and was later spotted by a St. Lucie County sheriff’s deputy on Selvitz Road.
In an attempt to stop the vehicle, the driver drove away and a short pursuit began from Selvitz Road and Edwards Road to Jenkins Road and Altman Road, which is about 3.4 miles, Mascara said.
The vehicle stopped at the end of Altman Road when it crashed into a tree.
Mascara said several sheriff’s deputies attempted to make contact with the driver of the vehicle but were not successful.
The sheriff office's SWAT and crisis negotiation teams were called to the scene.
After several attempts to make contact with the driver, the SWAT team entered the vehicle and found the driver dead with a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.
The driver's name has not been released.
