A man died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police pursuit on Interstate 40 Wednesday evening, according to Arkansas State Police.
The incident began around 6:40 p.m. on April 22 when the Sherwood Police Department requested assistance from state troopers while pursuing a fleeing suspect.
Authorities said the suspect, later identified as 26-year-old Marquez Smart, was driving a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee when an Arkansas State Police trooper joined the pursuit. When Smart failed to stop, a trooper executed a tactical vehicle intervention maneuver.
Following the maneuver, the vehicle exited the interstate and traveled down an embankment before coming to rest in a grassy area near the eastbound on-ramp at Prothro Junction.
Troopers located Smart inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head and holding a pistol.
Officials said no law enforcement officers discharged their weapons during the incident.
Smart was transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, where the medical examiner’s preliminary findings determined the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head, with the manner of death ruled a suicide.
The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division is continuing to investigate the incident.
