A Monday night pursuit through Lackawanna County ended with the pursued man’s death.
SCRANTON, Pa. — A police chase through Lackawanna County ended in gunshots and a man’s death Monday night, the state police said Tuesday morning.
Now, an investigation is underway to determine the origin of the bullet that took Christian Santiago’s life.
Santiago displayed a rifle from the driver’s-side window after the pursuit ended by the North Scranton Expressway, and the state police said they heard a gunshot from inside his car. The troopers who stopped him fired their guns into the car at the sound of the shot
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The police had been looking for Santiago since earlier Monday, when Scranton officers took a report that the 20-year-old stole a .30-06 rifle from a relative’s home. Santiago sent a family member a photograph of the rifle and ammunition, and his family obtained a warrant to commit him to a mental health institution.
The city police found Santiago, but he fled in a black Ford Focus.
The state police found the car again at the Penn Can Travel Plaza in Harford at 8:37 p.m. Santiago fled south on Interstate 81 through Lackawanna County until they managed to disable his car by the North Scranton Expressway.
With the Ford stopped, the state police said Santiago displayed a rifle from the driver’s-side window. A gunshot cracked, and police fired a volley into the car in response.
Santiago was removed from the car by members of the state police’s Special Emergency Response Team, the city police’s Special Operations Group, and Lackawanna County SWAT.
Santiago died at Geisinger Community Medical Center. The state police are investigating the origin of the gunshot that caused his fatal injury.
They said there is no danger to the public.