Oklahoma City police have identified the driver accused of leading officers on a chase that wound through the south side of the city, in an incident that began with gunfire and ended in a collision. Authorities named the man at the center of the case as Antonio Santiago, who now faces a series of charges.
According to police, the events unfolded on Wednesday night. The situation first developed near Southwest 31st and Blackwelder, where Santiago was reported to be shooting in a neighborhood, an alarming start that quickly drew the attention of officers and set the rest of the night's events in motion.
From that point, the encounter escalated into a pursuit. Officers followed the driver as he made his way through the south side of Oklahoma City, turning a residential disturbance into a moving chase across city streets that put others on the road at risk.
The chase ultimately came to an end when Santiago struck another driver near Southeast Grand and High. The collision brought the pursuit to a halt, but not before drawing an uninvolved motorist into the dangerous sequence of events that had begun blocks away with the reported shooting.
Police said the other driver involved in the crash suffered only minor injuries. Given the circumstances of a high-speed police chase ending in a collision, that relatively limited outcome spared what could have been a far more serious result for the person caught up in the incident.
In the aftermath, Santiago was booked on multiple complaints, according to police, who have now publicly identified him as the driver they say was responsible. The case underscores the risks that such pursuits pose, beginning with gunfire in a neighborhood and ending with an unconnected driver hurt on the city's streets.