Man dies in crash caused by vehicle in pursuit; woman facing charges

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A man is dead and a woman is facing charges after a crash in Montgomery County Monday.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office identified the man Tuesday as 35-year-old Colby Ross.

The crash happened at the intersection of Third Street and U.S. Route 35, News Center 7 previously reported.

>> PHOTOS: Deputies investigating deadly crash near U.S. 35 in Montgomery County

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck identified the woman who caused the deadly crash as 50-year-old Melissa Hutchins, of Dayton.

Streck said she ran from Butler Township police in the construction zone on Interstate 75 Monday and took off again when deputies spotted her three hours later.

A detective used stop sticks and the video from a cruiser showed a tire smoking then detaching and flying backward. The chase lasted just over three minutes on SR 49 South.

Hutchins lost control, the SUV spinning through two complete 360s, but she took off again and ran through the red light at West Third Street.

Hutchins then hit Ross’s convertible, forcing him into a pickup truck and causing his ejection and fatal injuries.

“We can’t feel the pain the family and friends do in this senseless, tragic crash,” Streck said.

Streck said Hutchins has been charged many times for driving without a valid license. He says a search of the vehicle turned up suspected drugs.

He said she needed to be stopped, she was a threat.

“Everything we’ve seen and heard is a group of detectives and deputies trying to do the job they were hired to do, that ended in a tragic event,” Streck said.

The sheriff’s office inspectonal services department will review the chase to make sure all department policies and procedures were followed.

Streck noted that the vehicle Hutchins drove did not belong to her, and deputies will investigate to make sure the owner did not know she didn’t have a license.

We will continue following this story.

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