BY STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle
WICHITA — The crash that killed a 24-year-old man fleeing from police at about noon on Saturday appears to be a case of suicide, Wichita authorities said this morning.
William Corbett swerved his girlfriend's pickup into oncoming traffic on 47th Street South at Euclid, slamming into an SUV at perhaps 60 miles an hour, police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. Two women in the SUV, ages 39 and 24, were taken to local hospitals with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
"We'll never know" why Corbett decided to kill himself, Deputy Chief Tom Stolz said.
Corbett had a history of mental illness and suicide attempts, Stolz said, and had told a relative by phone moments before the collision that he was going to die.
Corbett's girlfriend called 911 at 11:56 a.m. Saturday to report that she had been beaten, and gave a description of her pickup, which Corbett had taken.
Within a few minutes of the 911 call, a patrol officer spotted the pickup at 47th and Seneca. He flipped on his lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the pickup over, Stolz said.
Corbett sped away on 47th and the officer pursued. The chase reached speeds of about 60 miles an hour before Corbett swerved into oncoming traffic.
The pursuing officer had begun to slow down prior to the crash to disengage the pursuit, Stolz said, though his lights and sirens were still activated.
Events unfolded so quickly, Stolz said, that the chase was under way before other officers had even arrived at the house where the domestic violence had been reported.
For more on this story, see Tuesday's Eagle.
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/07/1348355/crash-during-weekend-police-chase.html#ixzz0qDTFG9ww
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