A former Winona Lake man died Monday after crashing his vehicle while fleeing from police in Dekalb County.

Indiana State Police say Casey Allen May, 27, most recently of rural Auburn, died  Monday morning when he crashed his Jeep into a tree head-on. The vehicle burst into flames on impact.

According to Senior Trooper Steve Malone, around 9:15 a.m. Monday, a DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputy went to a home in the 5300 block of Dekalb County Road 51. The deputy spoke with May through a window, but May then went into the garage of the home, got into a Jeep and drove through the closed garage door. May’s Jeep collided with the deputy’s police car before speeding away.

ISP information says a second DeKalb County deputy arrived just as the Jeep pulled onto CR 51 and drove south. With his emergency lights and siren on, the deputy tried to catch up to the Jeep.

Police say the Jeep left the west side of the road approximately a mile south of the residence and struck the tree. May was pronounced dead at the scene.

May operated StormTrackerLive.net. He was a 2004 graduate of Warsaw Community High School.

His obituary occurs on our Obituaries page.