One suspect dead, one injured after robbery, fatal car crash in SW OKC

A robbery at a convenience store led to a fatal car crash early Friday, in which one of the robbery suspects was killed, according to police.

Shortly before 4 a.m. Friday, a robbery was reported at a 7-Eleven convenience store at 1520 SW 59. Two suspects fled south in a red Saturn on Western Avenue toward Interstate 240, according to police.

An Oklahoma City police officer spotted the vehicle and pulled up behind it. According to police, the vehicle stopped in a nearby lot, but then sped away, traveling east on the westbound I-240 service road.

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The vehicle then entered I-240's westbound lanes in the wrong direction, and the police officer, traveling east in the eastbound lanes, attempted to keep pace with the fleeing vehicle, according to police Sgt. Gary Knight.

The fleeing vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle shortly after entering the interstate. The person driving the vehicle died while the passenger, identified by police as 51-year-old Michael J. Milton, was injured.

The driver of the other vehicle was taken to Integris Baptist Medical Center, where he reportedly was treated for injuries and released.

After Milton was treated for his injuries at OU Medical Center, Knight said, he was released into police custody.

"It's important to note that this was never a pursuit," Knight said. "(Milton) has been booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on robbery charges."

The fatal crash blocked traffic for hours Friday morning on I-240 near Santa Fe Avenue.