BEDFORD TOWNSHIP (WKZO-AM/FM) — Calhoun County Sheriff’s investigators have released the name of a Springfield man who died while fleeing from police early Saturday morning.
Thomas Clearwater, 28, had been driving erratically on West Michigan Avenue near West Van Buren Street when they hit their lights and sirens at about 3 a.m. and the suspect sped away northbound, according to a press release. About six miles later, deputies say he lost control on a curve along Waubascon Road in Bedford Township and struck a tree near Netap Road.
The man was trapped in the crushed wreckage of his pickup and died before he could be extricated.
Tests are being conducted to determine if he was intoxicated at the time.
