Springfield man dies after fleeing from a sheriff's deputy, crashing into parked vehicle

• Desmond Walls, 19, of Springfield died following the crash.
• A Sangamon County Sheriff's Office deputy tried to pull over a white, 2016 Jeep on March 24 around 4:30 a.m. but chose to not chase it as it sped away.
• The deputy soon found the Jeep crashed, with two young men trapped in and underneath the vehicle.

A Springfield man died from injuries sustained in a car crash on North Second Street and Calhoun Avenue that happened on March 24. Just before the crash, a Jeep fled from a Sheriff's deputy that tried to pull it over.

Desmond Walls, 19, was pronounced dead by staff at Springfield Memorial Hospital on March 25 around 5 p.m., while the crash took place early in the morning of the day prior.

Walls and another 19-year-old man from Springfield were in the white, 2016 Jeep that crashed, said Illinois State Police Trooper Shafer McKune in an email. Both faced life-threatening injuries. Trooper McKune did not disclose the condition of the other man.

When the deputy found the men around 4:30 a.m., one of them was trapped inside the Jeep and another was trapped underneath it, according to a news release from Sheriff Paula Crouch. Authorities have not said which of the men was Walls.

What led to the crash

A Sangamon County Sheriff's Office deputy tried to pull over the Jeep in the area of Second Street and Edwards Street, but the deputy chose to not chase as it sped away.

"The deputy lost sight of the vehicle but continued on the last known path the vehicle was traveling," Sheriff Crouch wrote.

The Sheriff's Office also released footage of the attempted traffic stop. In the video, the Jeep appears to begin speeding away before the deputy turned on his emergency lights. The vehicle had no registration, Sheriff Crouch said.

The crash

The deputy ultimately finds clouds of smoke at the 900 block of North Second Street before seeing the Jeep with a wrecked front. The Jeep was also on fire.

The deputy tried to put the fire out and check on the man inside the Jeep, the release said, though the video that was released ended before this could be shown. Once fire fighters and medical personnel arrived, the men from the Jeep were transported to the hospital for treatment.

The Jeep had crashed into a 2012 Toyota Camry that was parked and unoccupied, Trooper McKune said. The Jeep also crashed into two power poles.

Walls died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the crash, preliminary findings from an autopsy show, said Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon.

Illinois State Police were requested to respond to handle the crash, Sheriff Crouch wrote.

The death remains under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroner and the Illinois State Police.

Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@gannett.com.