KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A man accused of kidnapping his girlfriend and their 10-year-old daughter then killing a man during an attempted carjacking was shot to death following a police chase through Missouri and Illinois, authorities said Wednesday.
The chase began Tuesday evening in Jefferson City, Missouri, and ended about three hours later in Greenville, Illinois, after sheriff's deputies used stop sticks to deflate the tires on Leslie Austin's SUV, allowing the girlfriend and child to escape. Authorities said Austin, 39, fired multiple shots during and after the chase, but do not yet know if he shot himself or was shot and killed by law enforcement.
Austin's 33-year-old girlfriend, Danielle Smith, was shot and wounded several times, and has been hospitalized in critical condition, Illinois State Police said in a news release. The daughter wasn't hurt.
Jefferson City police Lt. David Williams said the girlfriend had a restraining order against Austin.
Little information has been released about the circumstances of the abduction. Officers responding to reports of gunfire in a Jefferson City parking lot around 7:40 p.m. found spent shell casings and broken glass, Williams said. Witnesses who called 911 said they saw the SUV speeding away after the shots were fired.
Not knowing of the abduction, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper in Union, about 75 miles away, attempted to stop Austin for a registration violation around 9 p.m., Patrol Cpl. Justin Wheatley said. Austin took off and blew through several stop lights. The patrol called off the pursuit, Wheatley said.
A Franklin County sheriff's deputy reinitiated the pursuit after learning the vehicle was wanted, Wheatley said.
Patrol troopers caught up with Austin again about 25 miles away on Interstate 44 in the western St. Louis suburb of Eureka. They pursued him until he drove across a bridge into Illinois, where Illinois State Police Troopers took up the chase, Wheatley said.
At around 10:30 p.m., Bond County sheriff's deputies deployed the stop sticks on Illinois 140 near Greenville, and the girlfriend and child were able to escape the slowing SUV, Illinois State Police said in a news release.
Austin then tried to carjack a vehicle from Gregory Price, shooting and killing the 67-year-old man from Florissant, Missouri. Austin apparently decided against taking Price's car and failed in an attempt to carjack a second vehicle, choosing instead to continue on in his damaged SUV, state police said.
He eventually stopped the vehicle and was shot and killed in a shootout, although police said it was unclear if he was shot by an officer or the gunshot was self-inflicted.
Austin had convictions in Missouri for misdemeanor theft, domestic assault, tampering with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
From staff and wire reports
Authorities say two people are dead following a kidnapping, attempted carjacking and lengthy police chase that started in Missouri and ended in southern Illinois.
Police allege 39-year-old Leslie K. Austin kidnapped his girlfriend and their child Tuesday night in Jefferson City. The woman was shot during the abduction but survived.
The woman, identified as Danielle L. Smith, was able to escape with her child after Austin drove into Illinois, where Austin then fatally shot a 67-year-old man during an attempted carjacking.
Jefferson City police say the incident began around 7:38 p.m. when officers were called to the 500 block of East Elm Street to investigate a report of shots fired. Callers identified a blue SUV fleeing the scene.
When officers arrived, they recovered multiple spent shell casings and broken glass that confirmed a weapons violation had occurred. Witnesses helped to identify the suspect and victim. Police discovered there were no gunshot victims reported at any local hospitals consistent with the time of the weapons call.
Area law enforcement agencies were notified of the circumstances and asked to assist with locating the suspect vehicle. Local police dispatchers later were notified that a deputy in Franklin County had located a similar vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop but a pursuit began after it failed to yield. During the chase that followed, law enforcement reported multiple shots being fired from the suspect vehicle.
The chase continued eastward on Interstate 44 into St. Louis where it crossed into Illinois.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Austin died after exchanging gunfire with police who stopped his vehicle by using "stop sticks" along a roadway in Greenville, Illinois, about 175 miles from Jefferson City. It wasn't immediately known if Austin shot himself or was shot by officers.
Police say Smith was being treated at a hospital Wednesday. Her condition hasn't been released.