Multiple high-speed chases in York County end with 2 people dead along with a Police K9

Authorities say this started with a man claiming to have a gun and stealing their patrol vehicle

YORK, Neb. (KLKN) – UPDATE: The York County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the identity of the Police K9 involved in the fatal accident.

Police K9, Nitro was among those who passed away Tuesday night.

“K9 Nitro was a tremendous asset to our agencies as she assisted the York Police Department on multiple occasions in the detection of illegal narcotics,” said the sheriff’s statement.

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YORK, Neb. (KLKN) — We now know what led to an overnight train wreck in York, killing two people and a Police K9.

The York County Sheriff’s Office says this all began just after 11 p.m. when a deputy tried pulling over a pickup truck that was driving erratically near Road H and Road 15.  This led to a high-speed chase that was clocked going over 100 miles per hour.  It finally ended eight minutes later at Road H and Road 18, with the suspect getting out and claiming to have a gun.  Officers say he also told them he wanted to die.

In less than a minute the suspect made a move toward officers and hopped inside a patrol K9 vehicle.  This led to a second high-speed chase throughout the county that eventually crossed into the city of York.

The sheriff’s office tells us he then stopped the stolen vehicle at 19th Street and Delaware Avenue on railroad tracks, as a train was quickly approaching.  We’re told he hopped out and officers moved in to get the vehicle back, in addition to the canine inside.  But they say the suspect jumped back in and drove north on Delaware Avenue, leaving officers stuck south of the tracks with the train now cutting them off.

Authorities say the suspect then drove to 25th Street and Delaware Avenue before flipping around and speeding toward the train, hitting another vehicle that was waiting for it to pass.  The stolen patrol vehicle pushed that other driver into the train, killing them instantly along with himself and the K9.

So far names of everyone involved have not been released as their families are notified.