Four individuals died early this morning following a crash on Highway 31 East near County Road 211 in Smith County. The fatal crash, which occurred around 5:36 a.m., brought an end to a high-speed police chase that began in Tyler after a shooting incident, according to a release issued by the Tyler Police Department.
The incident originated when Tyler Police Department officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of Lake Placid Road. They were responding to reports of suspicious gunshot noises in the area. The caller who reported the gunshots also provided a description of a vehicle believed to be driven by the alleged shooters, the release stated.
Approximately an hour and a half later, around 4 a.m., the Tyler Police Department received a call from a local hospital. The hospital reported they were treating two victims for gunshot wounds, indicating these injuries were sustained during the incident on Lake Placid Road. Officers investigating the reported shooting subsequently spotted the suspect vehicle. When law enforcement attempted to make contact with the occupants of the vehicle, it drove away from the area, initiating a pursuit by Tyler Police officers.
The chase continued at a high rate of speed, moving through the city of Tyler before extending onto Highway 31 East. As the pursuit left the city limits, Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers joined the ongoing chase. According to the Tyler Police Department release, one of the DPS troopers performed a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT maneuver, on the suspect vehicle. This maneuver was used to “bring it to an end,” directly leading to the crash.
Tragically, three occupants of the suspect vehicle were pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash. A fourth occupant was transported to a nearby hospital for medical attention but succumbed to their injuries later, according to the official release. Authorities are currently withholding the identities of all individuals involved in the incident pending notification of their next of kin.
A spokesperson for Smith County Emergency Services District 2 confirmed that eastbound traffic on Highway 31 East was completely shut down for several hours in the vicinity of the crash site as law enforcement and first responders managed the scene.
