WAPAKONETA — A traffic stop Sunday on Interstate 75 led to a high speed chase and an officer-involved shooting incident, according to a release by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
At approximately 1:35 p.m., Highway Patrol officers at the Findlay post found a Chrysler Pacifica traveling southbound on the interstate in Hancock County. Officers believed this vehicle was being driven by a person suspected of murder in a Chicago shooting. When officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the driver refused to stop and led officers on a high speed chase southbound on the interstate.
Stop sticks were deployed multiple times as the chase continued down Interstate 75, but they were not successful in stopping the driver. To bring the vehicle to a stop, troopers then made deliberate contact with the vehicle on the interstate, according to the release, just south of U.S. Route 33 in Pusheta Township. The vehicle came to a stop in the median and caught fire, the release said.
The driver exited the vehicle with a handgun and began walking in the southbound lane of Interstate 75, according to the release. This led to an officer-involved shooting at the scene. The driver, Danny E. Berry, 45, of Chicago, was transported by ambulance to an area hospital, having sustained serious injuries.
No officers were injured during the pursuit and subsequent shooting. The Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the incident, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been brought in to investigate the shooting.
Multiple agencies provided assistance, according to the release, including the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, the Lima Police Department, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office, the Shawnee Township Police Department, Wapakoneta Fire and EMS and the Ohio Department of Transportation.
