An Emporia man is dead following a two-vehicle crash on West Sixth Ave. Thursday afternoon and another arrested in connection to the death.
According to Emporia Police Sgt. Lisa Hayes, a vehicle pursuit began in the 600 block of Commercial Street shortly after 1:20 pm when an Emporia Police Officer observed 23-year-old Devawn Mitchell traveling at a “high rate of speed.” Mitchell then allegedly swerved in an attempt to ram the police vehicle triggering the initial pursuit which was called off shortly after it began due to high speeds in a residential area.
Mitchell was later spotted around 2:10 pm on the west side of Emporia and eventually ended up in the 300 block of Graham Street where he stopped in the middle of the street according to EPD. Officers attempted to place stop sticks in front of the vehicle, however, Mitchell allegedly accelerated over curbs onto a residential street and to West Sixth.
Officers again began a pursuit but again had to call it off shortly after it began. Officers eventually lost sight of the vehicle in the 2100 block of West Highway 50 and shortly after an officer in an unmarked vehicle called in a traffic collision.
Mitchell’s vehicle had collided with the rear of a pickup driven by 64-year-old Steven Henry of Emporia in the 1000 block of West Highway 50. Officers administered life-saving measures to Henry once on scene, however, he was later pronounced dead.
Mitchell suffered what are being called minor injuries and was taken to Newman Regional Health and later released and booked into the Lyon County Jail on suspicion of reckless second-degree murder and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Formal charges are pending.
Henry was a 1989 inductee into the Emporia State Hall of Honor. He was a four-year letterman at ESU in both track as a sprinter and long jumper and football where he was a four-year starter as a defensive back, later getting drafted by the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1979 and playing three years in the NFL.
Traffic was rerouted around the crash site for six hours after the wreck.
