Man Killed In High-Speed Police Chase

PARMA, Ohio -- A man was killed Saturday when he crashed his car during a high-speed police chase, officials said.

The chase started at West 130th Street and Brookpark Road in Parma and ended at West 130th Street and Gilmore Avenue in Cleveland when the car 29-year-old Phillip Shamray was driving hit a pole.

The crash happened next to the police impound lot and towing company where Shamray worked.

Andy Palas didn't know the man who hit the pole, but he was probably the last person to see him alive. Palas was driving down West 130th Street when Shamray drove past him in a hurry.

"He was going so fast that the wind current behind his car moved my car. It was terrible," Palas said.

Parma police were chasing Shamray in his 1998 Honda Civic at about 2:45 a.m. after a traffic stop.

"I heard the screeching sound of car brakes. I looked in my mirror and saw the car do a 180. Now it's going east like he's going to hit the pole and he did," Palas said.

James Drolson was shocked to hear that the man who crashed into the pole while fleeing police was a co-worker.

"He never gave anybody a hard time. He never got into arguments with anybody here. That's what you want in an employee, to get along and that's the way he was. We got along fine," Drolson said.

There was no immediate word on why Shamray took off from the intersection when police pulled him over.

The Accident Investigation Unit is looking into the crash.