WHITE HALL, Ark. (AP) ó Police say a North Carolina man is dead after he fled from officers checking out vehicles at a truck stop and was pursued onto Interstate 530, where shots were fired and his pickup truck crashed.
The man killed late Friday night was identified as Michael Timothy Bost, 55, of Granite Quarry, N.C.
State police say Bost reportedly shot at officers as he drove north in I-530’s southbound lanes, and the officers returned fire.
“The suspect was fatally wounded,” White Hall Police Chief Noel Foster said. “None of the police officers involved (was) injured.”
Foster said the officer who shot Bost has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by state police.
Foster said Bost’s death might be the first time a White Hall officer has been involved in a fatal shooting.
“I can’t ever remember a time when we’ve had to fatally injure someone,” he said.
The chief said officers from his department were checking vehicles and came across a pickup truck with an out-of-state license.
“As they were checking him, they discovered that he was armed,” Foster said. “When that was discovered, he fled in his vehicle.”
State police said Bost apparently lost control of his truck near I-530’s 24 mile marker as he attempted to cross the median to the northbound lanes.
Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelly said Bost’s body was sent to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. Kelly said evidence in the case would be presented to the Jefferson County prosecutor, who would decide if the officer’s use of deadly force was lawful.