Man dies in semi cab after highway chase

Man dies in semi cab after highway chase
1/15/08

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Alaska State Troopers says a Wasilla man led officers on a high-speed chase yesterday (Monday) from Fairbanks to a location near Nenana and then apparently killed himself.
Authorities believe 35-year-old Steven Richard Schnekenburger died of a gunshot wound in a semi cab that was not pulling a trailer.
The incident began at 2:15 a.m. when Fairbanks airport police attempted to pull Schnekenburger over as he drove his truck on the Mitchell Expressway on the west side of Fairbanks.
He kept going to the Parks Highway before stopping a few miles outside the city.
Officers say Schnekenburger backed up the tractor and attempted to ram a patrol car, then drove south on the highway at speeds between 60 and 90 miles per hour.
A trooper in Nenana put down spike strips. They punctured the truck's tires but the driver kept going on rims until crashing in the ditch near Mile 292.

A police negotiator tried to contact the driver by radio, cell phone and a bullhorn.
Troopers pepper-spayed the cab to try to flush the driver out.
Shortly after 7 a.m., officers entered the vehicle and found the driver dead.
Troopers say that shortly after airport police tried to stop the truck, troopers themselves received a call from a family member who said Schnekenburger had threatened to kill his relative.
The incident kept the Parks Highway closed for about three and a half hours.
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