Crime & Safety

Report: Suspect in Police Chase, Richland Crash Had Suicidal Thoughts

California man Jose Dios has a long history of run-ins with police.

After he was taken into custody following a police chase that ended in a violent crash on Route 8 in Richland Township, California man Jose Rios, 41, of San Bernardino told officers he was have suicidal thoughts.

"He told the officers later, after they brought him back to the station, he was fleeing from police because he wanted to kill himself and he didn't say why or by what means," said Officer Ron Perkins of the Middlesex Township police department told WTAE.

The chase began Monday evening on Route 228 after authorities got reports of a suspicious vehicle in Middlesex Township, according to WTAE. The vehicle was spotted in Adams Township, but when police tried to stop him, he took off towards Route 8.

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A high-speed chase involving police from Middlesex, Adams and Mars ensued.

Police said Rios kept going after striking two cars near Grandview Crossing on William Flynn Highway. Those cars had minor damage. The drivers were uninjured.

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Rios then collided with a third vehicle in front of the Northtowne Square shopping center.

Northern Regional Police Chief Bob Amann said Matthew Conte, 25, of Richland, was stopped at a traffic light while waiting to make a right turn when Rios plowed into him. 

The impact wrapped the car Conte was driving around a nearby traffic pole.

Conte was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in Pittsburgh in serious condition, the chief said.

Rios had minor injuries from the crash.

He is charged with charged with fleeing or attempting to elude officers, reckless driving, aggravated assault and two counts of damaging attended vehicles.  

He is scheduled to go before District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg at 9 a.m. June 26 for a preliminary hearing. He currently is lodged at Butler County Jail.

Rios has a history of run-ins with police in at least five states, according to WPXI. This includes 12 aliases, one of which he is registered as a sex offender. Other charges include drug arrests and burglary. 

WPXI reports Rios has been living with his wife and two sons in a house in Adams Township for more than a year. His wife filed a protection-from-abuse order against him hours before the chase, according to WPXI.

According to investigators, Rios is living in the country illegally, WTAE reports. Immigration and Naturalization Service authorities have been contacted in the incident. 


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