One man is dead after an early morning car chase Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.
Police were called to a disturbance at 618 North Street where witnesses say one man threatened another with a gun. The man, now identified as James Pyles, fled the scene in a vehicle. Two patrol cars chased Pyles at slow speeds, who stopped at stop signs and used his turn signal while police were in pursuit.
All that changed when Pyles turned off Cape Rock Drive and onto Perryville Road, where Pyles accelerated at a high rate of speed, according to patrolman Darin Hickey.
“As the vehicle approached Rotary Drive, the vehicle left the right-hand side of the roadway and struck a tree. The officers immediately went up and made contact with the driver,” Hickey said. “They found severe injuries. The individual was later transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.”
Hickey says Pyles, who was 35 years old, died from wounds sustained in the crash.
Hickey says the car chase did not cause any other accidents or damage.
“And with it being that hours of the day, little to no traffic at all. No pedestrian traffic. So it was, you know, officers took into account, their surroundings and where they were at,” Hickey said.
Cape Girardeau detectives are still investigating the cause of the altercation that initiated the car chase.