Police said they found a gun and suspected drugs in the stolen pickup truck involved in a three-vehicle fatal crash after the driver took off, leading police on a pursuit in the City of Erie Saturday morning.

The incident started around 8:40 a.m. when an officer spotted the stolen truck near W. 14th and Liberty St. and attempted to pull the vehicle over.

The driver of the truck instead took off, driving north on Liberty St. then east on 8th St. at a high speed.

The driver ran a red light at the intersection of 8th and Chestnut St., according to Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny. The truck was clipped by a car that was traveling south through that intersection.

The impact caused the driver of the truck to lose control of the stolen vehicle.  The truck then traveled a half-block, slammed into a parked car, hit a tree, flipped over and ejected the driver.

Police on the scene started CPR. The driver of the truck was then rushed to UPMC Hamot Trauma Center, where according to Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook, he was pronounced dead at 9:19 a.m.

The truck and parked car were heavily damaged. The third car was damaged as well. That driver of that car went to the hospital to be checked out but was not seriously hurt, according to police.

Investigators were still at the scene doing accident reconstruction work as of early Saturday afternoon.

The driver of the stolen truck died of multiple blunt-force-trauma injuries suffered in the accident, according to the coroner.

Toxicology tests will be completed, but an autopsy is not expected.

Coroner Cook said the victim - a black male believed to be in his late 20s to early 30s - was not carrying identification, so authorities are still working to determine his identity. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Erie Police at 814-870-1120.

 
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