5 p.m. Friday   On Thursday the Kansas Highway Patrol provided information on Thursday morning’s fatal crash that indicated the driver was from Colorado Springs. The Hays Police Department is releasing different information on Gerad F. Madrid. This suggests he had a Rooks County address.

Late Friday, The Hays Police Department released the following information on the pursuit and fatality accident.

“On Thursday, November 28, 2013 at approximately 2:09 a.m. Hays Police Officers pursued a vehicle driving without its headlights the wrong way on a one way street. The pursuit started at 8th & Ash and wound up traveling east on 5th Street from Ash Street. A 34 year old Plainville resident, Gerad F. Madrid was driving the pursued vehicle, a 1991 Buick LeSabre which had been stolen from a Hays business.

The pursuit ended when Madrid drove the Buick into the canal just east of the 5th & Milner Street’s intersection. The vehicle struck the east bank and came to rest a few feet from the top of the canal. Madrid was not wearing a seatbelt and sustained fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene”

7 p.m. Thursday According to the Kansas Highway Patrol Gerad F. Madrid, age 34 of Colorado Springs died in Thursday morning’s crash at 5th and Milner in Hays. Madrid was fleeing the police and failed to stop at the dead end and struck an embankment.

 

10:40 a.m.  Thursday  Just after 2 a.m. on Thursday, Hays Police Officers observed a 1991 Buick Lesabre driving without headlights the wrong way on a one way street in the 800 Block of Ash Street. The officers attempted to stop the vehicle after it nearly struck one of the officer’s patrol cars.

Hays Police Officers pursued  the vehicle south bound on Ash Street with their lights and sirens on. The vehicle refused to stop and went east on 5th Street at a high rate of speed, running a stop sign at 5th and Main. The driver, who was still driving without headlights, apparently did not see the canal near 5th & Milner. Approximately one minute after the pursuit began the vehicle entered the canal at a high rate of speed and struck the east bank.

The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. It appears that he was not wearing his seatbelt. The investigation revealed that the vehicle involved in the pursuit was stolen. The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released Friday, November 29th.

The Kansas Highway Patrol, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department, the Ellis County Coroner’s Office, the Ellis County EMS (Emergency Medical Services), and the Hays Fire Department all assisted with this incident.