High speed chase starts in Demopolis, ends tragically

EUTAW – A high speed chase that began in Demopolis ended tragically in Eutaw early Saturday morning.

An unidentified manreportedly blew past Demopolis Police Department officers doing a routine driver’s license check on U.S. Highway 43 North just inside the city limits a little after 1 a.m. Saturday.

The driver was then pursued at high speeds by Alabama State Troopers, Alabama Beverage Control agents and law enforcement officials from various agencies. The chase reportedly stopped near Eutaw where, sources indicate, the man opened fire on pursuing officers before jumping off a bridge to his death.

A release from the Alabama Department of Public Safety Sunday evening confirmed many of the details of the incident.

“Early Saturday morning, an unidentified man led state and local law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase before leaping to his death from the Tenn-Tom River Bridge,” the release read. “State and local officers were conducting a driver license checkpoint at approximately 1 a.m. on U.S. 43 at the Greene-Marengo county line. The unidentified subject failed to stop at the checkpoint, which prompted officers to initiate a chase. The driver drove through the cities of Forkland, Eutaw and Boligee before reaching the river bridge. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is investigating, and no additional information is available.”