The Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputy stopped the pursuit when the suspect turned southbound onto the northbound lanes of I-25.
A 49-year-old Fort Collins man died in a head-on collision with a semi-truck after he drove the wrong way down Interstate 25 on Wednesday night while trying to flee from police, according to Colorado State Patrol and Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
About 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, a Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputy attempted to pull over a vehicle at East Mulberry Street and Greenfield Court for a traffic stop, but the driver failed to stop, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
A check of the vehicle's license plates revealed it was associated with a man wanted for a felony warrant.
The deputy pursued the vehicle eastbound on East Mulberry Street to I-25 at speeds reaching 55 mph, according to LCSO. The suspect then started to turn southbound onto I-25 from the northbound off-ramp.
The deputy attempted a slow-speed PIT maneuver to stop the driver from turning into oncoming traffic. The maneuver was unsuccessful and the deputy stopped pursuing the suspect as he continued driving southbound toward the northbound lanes of I-25, according to the release.
While driving southbound on northbound I-25, the suspect collided head-on with a semi-truck near mile marker 269 in the right lane.
The suspect was declared dead on scene, according the Colorado State Patrol.
The 24-year-old semi-truck driver from North Dakota was not injured in the crash. No other vehicles were involved and no one else was injured, according to CSP.
Northbound I-25 was closed from the time of the crash, about 7:08 p.m., until 12:18 a.m. for clean up and investigation.
CSP is continuing the investigation into the crash. Alcohol and drugs are not considered as contributing factors. Investigators have not issued any citations.
The Larimer County Coroner's Office will release the identity of the man who died in the crash after notification of next of kin.
According to records maintained by the Coloradoan, there have been 35 fatal crashes on Larimer County roads so far this year. At this time last year, there were 28.