ANKENY, Iowa — A 19-year-old West Des Moines man is dead after leading a Story County Sheriff's deputy on a high-speed chase and crashing into another vehicle in Ankeny, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
The department said the Story County deputy was traveling northbound on Interstate 35 near Ankeny when a 2017 white Dodge Charger passed him at a "high rate of speed" Friday evening.
That's when the deputy "attempted to catch up" with the car. The press release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office said the deputy saw the car exit the interstate via the 1st Street exit to Ankeny before losing sight of it. The deputy regained sight of the Charger as it turned southbound onto NE 46th Street.
The deputy again lost sight of the driver, identified Saturday as Christopher Landers, just before Landers' car crashed into a red 2017 Ford Explorer traveling westbound on NE 78th Avenue.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office says Landers died at the scene.
The SUV was occupied by a man, a woman and three children. The woman passenger was ejected from the vehicle and taken to a nearby hospital where she remains in critical condition Saturday.
The adult, male driver of the Explorer and two of the three children in the car are in "stable" condition, but no further clarification was provided. The third child was taken to a hospital but has since been discharged.