Evansville police chase ends in deadly crash

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Map, News) - A man with repeated arrests for driving under the influence led police officers on a high-speed chase that ended in a fiery crash that killed a person not involved in the chase and sent two others to the hospital, police said.

The car driven by Daniel Joe English II, 34, of Evansville smashed head-on with another car Thursday night and burst into flames. The driver of the second car, Onterrio T. "Terry" Sharp, 20, died at the scene. Two of the four adult passengers in Sharp's car were hospitalized with injuries, while an infant suffered only minor scratches, police said.

English also was injured and was taken to Deaconess Hospital, where authorities said his blood-alcohol level registered as 0.21 percent - nearly three time the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Police said English had been arrested six times on DUI charges and his license had repeatedly been suspended, although it was currently valid. He had been classified as a habitual traffic offender for the past five years, city Police Chief Brad Hill said.

It was "disturbing" that English was able to drive legally, Hill said at a news conference Friday.

Police said when English is released from the hospital, he will be arrested on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness, DUI with a prior arrest for DUI and resisting law enforcement causing death. Both the DUI and resisting charges can carry a term of six years to 20 years in prison.

Police say the chase began about 9:15 p.m. on Green River Road on Evansville's east side when an officer attempted to pull over a speeding car. Hill said the department has a policy that allows supervisors to call off chases in certain circumstances, such as heavy traffic, but did not do so Thursday night.

Sharp's mother, Frolonda Carrington, was admitted to the surgical trauma/intensive care unit at St. Mary's Medical Center. His brother, Gersham Sharp, suffered less severe injuries.

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