NBC 5 is reporting on a police chase in North Dallas that ended with the driver taking his own life. The suspect’s wife was found dead in their home before the chase began. Reporter Keenan Willard has more.
NBC 5 is learning more about the shootout and police chase that left one man dead in North Dallas on Monday.
The family of the driver, who police said took his own life at the scene, has identified the man as Donald Ingram of Forney.
NBC 5 has learned that before the chase began, the suspect’s wife, Michelle Ingram, was found dead at their home in what’s being investigated as a homicide.
It was a chaotic scene Monday afternoon in the shadow of the High Five in Dallas. Richardson police chased a driver to a U.S. Highway 75 frontage road, with the suspect and one officer exchanging gunshots as they drove.
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“We were busy right here inside and just heard shooting,” said witness Iliana Laura Medina. “And we turn around, and it was just like the police shooting at the people in the car inside.”
Richardson police said the chase ended when the suspect, who was driving, shot a woman in the passenger seat and then shot himself, dying at the scene.
The woman - and three children in the car who were unharmed - were taken to the hospital.
In a statement on social media, Richardson police said the chase began when officers tried to stop the car because it was connected to a homicide in Kaufman County.
NBC 5 has learned the car belonged to Michelle Ingram, who was found dead at her home on Spofford Drive in Forney before Monday’s chase began.
A friend of Michelle’s told NBC 5 she found the victim’s body at the home.
“She seemed like a nice person,” said neighbor Curtis Kimmons. “It’s horrible, that is horrible.”
Neighbors said that on Monday, police tape surrounded the home where Michelle lived with her husband, Donald Ingram.
Kelly Webster is connected to Donald Ingram through family and has known him for years. She didn’t want her face shown on camera but spoke to NBC 5.
Webster said her neighbor texted her on Monday morning about a disturbance at the Ingram home.
“And I was just concerned and sent a message, like, are you guys okay? There was no response or anything,” said Webster. “And it wasn’t until later that the neighbor told me about the news report.”
Webster said while watching news coverage, she immediately recognized the car from Monday’s chase as Michelle Ingram’s, and other neighbors told NBC 5 the same thing.
The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office told NBC 5 that the driver who died at the scene was a suspect in a Kaufman County murder investigation.
Webster told NBC 5 that the deceased suspect was Donald Ingram.
“It’s just heartbreaking to know that it’s come to this,” said Webster. “It’s going to be hard just staying in the neighborhood, even knowing what happened down there.”
NBC 5 spoke over the phone with Michelle Ingram’s family members, who said, “Michelle was a beautiful person who inspired everyone she came in contact with…she did not deserve what happened to her.”
Those who knew Donald Ingram said they were still in shock after a series of events they never could have imagined.
“Do you honestly know who people are? Do you honestly know your neighbors?” Webster said she’s been thinking since the incident. “Or what’s on the outside, the appearance and you never know what’s going on within somebody’s home?”
NBC 5 reached out to Richardson police to ask if the department would confirm the identity of the driver who died at the scene and the woman and three children who were in the fleeing car and for any update on the condition of the woman shot by the driver. A spokesperson for the department said they were working to get us that information.
NBC 5 also reached out to the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office for information about the investigation into Michelle Ingram’s death and whether Donald Ingram is the murder suspect who died after Monday’s chase.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said this was an active investigation, and the office would provide information about the case as soon as possible.
