Police pursuit ends with the death of West Virginia man

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A police pursuit that ended in a hail of gunfire has left a West Virginia man dead.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that Kanawha Metro 911 dispatchers said Dunbar police officers began chasing a vehicle driven by 39-year-old Rodney Toler on Thursday.

They say the vehicle crossed the Dunbar Toll Bridge into South Charleston, leading Dunbar, and then South Charleston, officers east through the city into Charleston.

Charleston police spokeswoman Lt. Autumn Davis says Toler crashed the vehicle into a semi-truck and began firing at officers. South Charleston police returned fire, striking him.

Davis says she didn’t know how many times Toler was hit, or whether he had gotten out of the vehicle when the shooting began.

Toler was pronounced dead at the scene, and no officers were injured.

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Information from: The Charleston Gazette-Mail, http://wvgazettemail.com.