Arizonan being pursued killed in crash
Mar. 9—A 32-year-old Arizonan was killed Friday night when his vehicle went airborne off an overpass and rolled while fleeing from law enforcement officers.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, officers with the Odessa Police Department and the University of Texas Permian Basin spotted the driver of a Mercury Milan who was wanted in Arizona and suspected of having a large quantity of fentanyl pills.
They tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver, Juwan Hedreece Dobbins Jr., refused to stop. According to DPS, troopers joined the pursuit, but then lost sight of the Mercury.
The Ector County Sheriff's Office resumed the pursuit, but it ended when Dobbins traveled north in the southbound lanes of East Loop 338 near Yukon Road, DPS stated. Dobbins steered the vehicle into the dirt median to avoid colliding with two other vehicles, lost control and drove in the median between the north and southbound lanes of the loop on the overpass.
According to DPS, Dobbins' vehicle went airborne off the overpass, crashed onto Yukon road and rolled several times.
Dobbins and his passenger, a 31-year-old woman from Hobbs, N.M. were thrown from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene and she was taken to Medical Center Hospital with serious injuries.
The crash remains under investigation.
