UPDATE: Veteran officer killed during pursuit

Officer Keith Crenshaw

EUPORA, Miss. (WTVA) -- A Eupora police officer was killed after laying down a spike strip to stop a car being pursued by law enforcement officers.

Eupora's mayor identifies the officer as Keith Crenshaw, 52, of Eupora.

A Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesperson says the accidents happened around 10 a.m. on Highway 82.

Authorities say the trooper was following a vehicle that matched the description of a car reported as possibly being involved in a robbery in Grenada.

The spokesperson says the trooper did not attempt to pull the vehicle over, but was following it waiting for assistance.



When other law enforcement officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver attempted to get away.

Officials say Crenshaw put down a spike strip on the highway and was hit by the car when the driver attempted to avoid the strip.

The vehicle hit a metal utility pole a short distance away, killing one of the passengers in the car.

The driver was airlifted to a Jackson hospital and a second passenger in the car is being treated at a Eupora hospital.