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Interstate 15 south of St. George is shut down until sometime Wednesday after a man robbed a Mesquite, Nev., bank and fled north on I-15 to evade law enforcement.
The suspect shot himself in the head when an Arizona state trooper stopped his vehicle on the stretch of I-15 that passes through northwestern part of that state. The suspect died at the scene.
While investigating the vehicle, the trooper noticed material in boxes that appeared to be hazardous. Authorities shut down the freeway between Mesquite and St. George until an Arizona hazmat team can process the scene.
"All we can say now is that we it is seriously hazardous material," said Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Carrick Cook. The shutdown could last until as late as Wednesday afternoon, Cook said.
Traffic is being re-routed to the old U.S. Highway 191, he added. Larger vehicles — like semitrucks and buses — heading south are being asked to exit the freeway in Beaver or Cedar City and wait until the freeway reopens; northbound vehicles should exit in Mesquite.
The Arizona hazmat team had to be flown from Phoenix to St. George to get to the remote location near mile marker 20, and was to arrive sometime late Tuesday evening, Cook added.
The series of events began just after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to a Mesquite, Nev., press release, when officers responded to an alarm at the Nevada Bank and Trust.
The suspect entered the bank and told employees that he had a gun and a bomb, but did not brandish any weapons, according to the statement. He was described as a white male wearing a fake mustache, with blue eyes, about 5’6” tall, wearing a faded green jacket and a pink baseball cap. He left the bank with $2,800 cash and ran toward a nearby apartment building.
A witness told Mesquite police that the suspect got into a white Dodge Charger or Cadillac sedan parked there.
The Arizona DPS officer followed a vehicle matching that description and from mile-marker 11 until making the traffic stop near mile-marker 20, police said.
Officials have yet to release the name of the suspect pending notification of family. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Beaver Dam Fire and Rescue.
No one else was injured in the incident.
Email:lbrubaker@desnews.com
