A driver thought to be wanted in connection with an Alabama murder died in Arkansas on Sunday from what officials suspect was a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a vehicle pursuit by Arkansas State Police, an agency spokesman said.

Just before 1 p.m. a trooper near Clarksville started to stop a vehicle that matched the description of a car reported to be occupied by the Alabama fugitive, whose name is not being released by police. The vehicle began to pull off the highway and stop. Then, the woman who had been driving the car - whose name is also not being released - fled on foot, according to a state police news release.

The trooper began to run toward the woman, but a man who had been hiding in the stopped car started driving westbound onto Interstate 40.

Shortly after, state troopers found the car and began a short pursuit. The suspect eventually stopped, and the troopers who approached the car found the driver dead.

The cause is “preliminarily believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the news release said.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/09/2013