A 60-mile pursuit that lasted for over an hour Wednesday morning came to an end with a head-on crash in a busy portion of Tempe.
PHOTOS: Pursuit ends in violent crash in Tempe
Department of Public Safety troopers began following the suspect's vehicle from the West Valley along Interstate 10 around 10 a.m., after he fled from a traffic stop.
The driver, identified as 31-year-old Mitchell Timothy Taebel, continued onto Loop 202 into Tempe, and exited the freeway at Scottsdale Road.
Taebel continued down Scottsdale Road, which turns into Rural Road, when he came to a stop at Rio Salado and authorities attempted to box in his vehicle. The suspect again fled, crashing into a black SUV at a high speed after driving through a stop light at Spence Avenue.
Aerial footage showed Taebel jump out of the vehicle and attempt to flee before being taken into custody. Viewer video showed Taebel talking to witnesses just before DPS arrived.
The driver of the black SUV is a 47-year-old woman. She was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The entire situation started just before 10 a.m. on State Route 85 near Lewis Prison Complex when Taebel fled from a DPS sergeant attempting a stop.
Troopers tried to stop Taebel's vehicle by laying down spike strips on SR-85, but he was able to go around the strips and continued onto I-10 towards Phoenix.
DPS troopers followed the suspect in marked vehicles until I-10 at 59th Avenue, where a DPS helicopter followed overhead. Several unmarked vehicles continued to follow the vehicle from a distance.
Taebel eventually merged onto L-202 towards Tempe and crashed near Arizona State University.
DPS does not know why Taebel fled, but he does have an extensive criminal history in several states.
Take a look at the map below for the approximate route of the Wednesday morning pursuit.
Rural Road has been shut down in both directions from Apache Boulevard to Spence Avenue as crews work to clear the scene. Drivers are urged to avoid the area.
*ROAD CLOSURES expected to be extended thru rush hour traffic. Please avoid the area of Rural between Apache & Broadway if possible. Thank you for your patience pic.twitter.com/Qt1gbqWEtS
— Tempe Police (@TempePolice) January 24, 2018
