Kalispell man dead after high-speed pursuit
A 22-year-old Kalispell man is dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase late Wednesday night.
According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Dalton Marshall Leigh was identified as the deceased.
According to information from the Kalispell Police Department, at about 10:30 p.m., officers responded to the southwest side of Kalispell for a report of a disturbance with a weapon.
When investigating officers arrived, they spoke to a resident who reported hearing a man randomly yelling from his vehicle.
The resident went outside and asked the man to stop yelling because people were trying to sleep. The resident reported a verbal exchange, stating the suspect eventually got out of his vehicle and pointed an AR-type of weapon at him. The suspect allegedly fired rounds into the air and left the scene.
After more Kalispell officers responded to the scene, the vehicle police believed the suspect was in drove by again.
Officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the man continued driving. Because of the extreme concern for public safety, Kalispell officers pursued the vehicle, which fled south on U.S. 93 at a high speed.
The pursuit continued south of Lakeside and into Lake County.
A trooper from the Montana Highway Patrol was able to use stop sticks to disable the vehicle. A brief while later, the vehicle left the roadway and came to a stop.
Officers ordered the man to get out of the vehicle, but he failed to do so.
Flathead County Sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after the pursuit stopped. A deputy was able to deploy a drone to inspect the vehicle further. The man was found dead inside the vehicle and authorities believe the driver took his own life. The man’s name is not being released at this time, pending family notification.
The death investigation is being conducted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in partnership with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and a civilian coroner.
The crash investigation is being handled by the Montana Highway Patrol.
Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.