Chase, shooting shut down Maine Turnpike

SACO, Maine -- A man who allegedly shot at police while trying to elude capture died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, resolving a standoff along the Maine Turnpike that caused a massive backup during evening rush hour.

State police lifted a blockade at about 9 o'clock last night.

Events started to unfold in Portland four hours earlier, when city police and officials from the US marshal's office tried to stop a man who was wanted for failure to appear in court.

The man eluded authorities, and a chase ensued south of Portland, said spokesman Steve McCausland of the Maine Public Safety Department.

During the chase, a shot fired from the car being pursued shattered the rear windshield of a State Police car, said McCausland. No injuries were reported.

Once the car being chased stopped, a standoff ensued, and police shut down the turnpike. About that time, a woman who was a passenger in the car surrendered to police, McCausland said.

Troopers, including a tactical team that had been called to the scene, later confirmed that the driver was dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, said the spokesman.

The names of the dead man and the woman were not immediately available.