Story by Nebraska State Patrol
August 7, 2025 (Omaha, Neb.) — The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating an incident in which a subject died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after fleeing a traffic stop.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. today, a trooper performed a traffic stop on a Ford F-150 pickup on westbound I-80 near 96th Street in Omaha. During the traffic stop, the trooper observed the driver to be impaired and saw open alcohol containers in the vehicle. The driver, an adult male, then accelerated and fled westbound. The driver was the lone occupant of the pickup. The trooper initiated a pursuit.
The vehicle fled northbound on Interstate 680. As the vehicle continued northbound, the Omaha Police Department’s Able 1 joined the pursuit from the air. Another trooper was able to successfully deploy stop sticks to slow the vehicle.
Just after the vehicle passed Blair High Road, still traveling on I-680, the driver began firing multiple shots out the driver’s side window and drove down the south embankment, crashing into a tree at the backyard of a residence near North 88th and Sunrise Streets. Able 1 advised that the driver did not exit the vehicle. Additional troopers and OPD officers arrived on scene to establish a perimeter.
After several attempts to communicate with the driver, a drone was deployed and observed the driver motionless inside the vehicle. An OPD K9 unit approached the pickup and found the driver with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The driver was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center where he died a short time later. The driver’s name will be released following the family notification process. A rifle was located inside the vehicle.
No troopers or officers fired shots at any point during the incident. The incident remains under investigation, with assistance from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Omaha Police Department. The pursuit lasted approximately ten minutes.