High-speed chase with UAPD officer leaves one dead

A UAPD officer was stopped at a red light on East Sixth Street and North Campbell Avenue at about 11:35 p.m. when the driver of a red 1986 Ford Mustang went through the light, headed south on Campbell, police said.

The man passed the officer and was reportedly driving at a high rate of speed.

The UAPD officer pursued the Mustang south on Campbell and then east on East Eighth Street.

The chase ended "in less than a minute," when a 1997 Pontiac mini-van, driving south on North Tucson Boulevard, struck the man when he ran a stop sign at Eighth and Tucson.

"It was a T-bone collision," said Tucson Police Department Sgt. Brett Klein.

The Mustang's driver was dead when officers arrived. A passenger inside the Mustang was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The man's identity has not been released, pending notification of family members, Klein said. The UAPD officer was uninjured and placed on paid leave.

Four people inside the van were taken to hospital. Police said they sustained "minor injuries."

University police detectives are handling the "administrative end of the case," said UAPD Cmdr. Brian Seastone.

"We are reviewing the event and looking into the incident to make sure policies were followed," he said.

The Pima County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy and toxicology test on the Mustang driver, while TPD traffic investigators will begin looking into the crash today.

"We will do a reconstruction of the accident to find out what kind of speeds were involved," Klein said.