A man who allegedly fled from police following a traffic stop on Highway 163 near Otley was killed in a crash near the Halfway Station in rural Leighton early Saturday morning.

According to a release from the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office, their dispatch center received complaints of a vehicle traveling westbound in the eastbound lane of 163 between Pella and Oskaloosa just after 5 a.m. A Marion County Deputy initiated a stop near Otley, and as the deputy approached the vehicle, the man inside shifted the car into gear and fled.

The Pella Police Department deployed stop sticks on 163 to attempt to deflate the tires of the vehicle, but the driver continued on into Mahaska County. Near the intersection of Eaton Avenue and 163 in rural Leighton, the unidentified driver lost control after traveling at a high rate of speed, rolling multiple times and striking the Halfway Station. The man was ejected from the vehicle, sustaining fatal injuries. The driver was an adult male from Fresno, California, and officers are withholding identification, pending notification of family.

That person has been transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office, and Iowa State Patrol are handling the investigation. The Pella Police Department, Pella Rural Fire, and Pella Ambulance, as well as Mahaska County Dispatch Center, Oskaloosa Police, and the Mahaska Health Ambulance Service also assisted.