By James Simons-
A prison officer accused of helping a “dangerous” inmate escape has died following a police car chase a week after the pair went on the run.
The two fugitives were caught on Monday in Evansville, Indiana, after US Marshals crashed into their vehicle, ending a three-state pursuit that began on April 29.
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Vicky White, 56, shot herself and died of her injuries in hospital. Casey White, 38, surrendered to the police.
Police said Mr White, who was serving a 75-year sentence for attempted murder and awaiting trial for the stabbing of a 58-year-old woman during a burglary, would “never see the light of day again”.
“We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again. That is a good thing, for not just our community. That’s a good thing for our country,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton of Alabama said.
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Ms White, the assistant director of corrections for the jail in Lauderdale County, allegedly helped plan Mr White’s escape. The pair are not related.
She had fooled co-workers that she was taking the inmate for a mental health evaluation, but instead the pair fled sparking a widespread search.
The car they took off in was later found abandoned in Tennessee, but there was no trace of the pair until US Marshals received a tip-off that CCTV photos from an Evansville car wash showed a man who closely resembled 6ft 9″ Mr White.
White stands 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall and weighs about 260 pounds (118 kilograms).
On Monday, officials learned that the pair were still in the area. As officers arrived, the pair fled in a vehicle. According to Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding, US Marshals collided with them “to try to end the pursuit”.
Mr White had been serving a 75-year sentence for a string of crimes that included attempted murder, robbery and burglary.
He was facing a further charge of murder over the stabbing of a 58-year-old woman.
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