A California driver involved in a high-speed chase on I-225 was struck by gunfire from a police helicopter, officials have confirmed.
According to police, the driver had refused to pull over and had sped past stop signs and red lights.
Police opened fire when the car began heading the wrong way on a motorway. The driver was later confirmed dead.
A sheriff’s spokeswoman said shootings from helicopters were rare but deputies did train for such eventualities.
The incident began on September 18 in Devore, east of Los Angeles, when police tried to pull over a man believed to have committed a burglary.
The Chevrolet Tahoe SUV drove through residential districts at high speed, narrowly missing pedestrians, before getting on to I-215 the wrong way, a statement from the San Bernardino County sheriff’s department said.
A deputy in a helicopter giving chase opened fire, hitting the SUV several times.
The wounded driver jumped from the moving car and ran a short distance before collapsing and dying by the side of the road, the statement said.
Police say they are awaiting autopsy results to reveal whether the man died from gunshot wounds or from leaping from the vehicle.
Police spokeswoman Jodi Miller said officers decided to open fire because the driver was threatening public safety.
The driverless SUV crashed head-on into a Dodge Durango injuring three people, one of whom remains in hospital, police added.
Fox News has apologized for showing a man fatally shooting himself in the head on live television.
Fox News on Friday was covering a high-speed chase that began in Phoenix, Arizona, using a live helicopter shot.
After driving for dozens of miles into the desert, the motorist stopped and ran on to a dirt road. He then put a handgun to his head and fired.
TV anchor Shepard Smith later apologized to viewers for not cutting away.
“We really messed up,” he said.
Phoenix police say the chase may have started with a car-jacking.
Fox News on Friday was covering a high-speed chase that began in Phoenix, Arizona, using a live helicopter shot
Police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the man was alleged to have stolen the car from a couple at gunpoint outside a restaurant just before 11:00 local time.
Police tracked down the car and began pursuit. The driver fired several shots at the police car, but no officers were hurt.
The car travelled west on Interstate highway 10, before turning on to a dirt road about 70 miles (113 km) to 80 miles from the state border with California.
“He got out of the car and shot himself,” Sgt. Tommy Thompson said.
“Efforts to revive him were not successful and he was dead at the scene. We don’t have an ID yet.”
“We’re all very sorry,” said Shepard Smith after the incident.
“That didn’t belong on TV.”
Michael Clemente, executive vice-president of news editorial at Fox News, said the channel had taken pains to avoid distressing viewers but had failed.
“We took every precaution to avoid any such live incident by putting the helicopter pictures on a five-second delay,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this mistake was the result of a severe human error and we apologize for what viewers ultimately saw on the screen.”
Fox News Channel has a reputation for picking up car chases from its local affiliates and airing them live.
Making for gripping television, such footage often provides a short-term ratings boost as viewers tune in to see how they end, the Associated Press news agency notes.
It is not the first time that a suicide has been inadvertently broadcast live on American television.
Christine Chubbuck shot herself dead on Florida’s WXLT-TV channel (now WWSB) in 1974 while presenting a news programme.
It is common practice for broadcasters to delay live material by a few seconds as a control mechanism.
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