Man facing murder charges after multi-county chase ends with body found in car

LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A body was found in the backseat of the car involved in a police chase that ended on I-75, according to Kentucky State Police:

KSP says the chase started Wednesday morning in Madison County and ended in the southbound lanes of I-75 in Laurel County near mile marker 45.

According to KSP, this all started around mile marker 83 on I-75 in Madison County. A trooper doing routine traffic patrols there spotted a vehicle driving “dangerously” and tried to pull it over.

The vehicle initially pulled over but then took off again.

KSP then began chasing the vehicle southbound on I-75, through Rockcastle County and into Laurel County. Once in Laurel County, the car hit a couple of KSP cruisers and crashed around mile marker 46, north of London. All of the troopers involved are okay.

KSP says the body of a woman was found in the backseat of the car and 54-year-old David Reed of St. Petersburg FL. was arrested.

Reed has been charged with murder-domestic violence, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, fleeing or evading police, criminal mischief, wanton endangerment, careless driving, resisting arrest, and having no operator’s license.

“At this time, all of that is still under investigation. We don’t the location of where she passed away at or where the crime may have been committed,” Trooper Scottie Pennington said. “That part is still under investigation. As this investigation continues, we may find that information out.”

State police are calling it a “very unique investigation.” We’re told they are treating it like a fatal crash, even though the crash itself wasn’t fatal, but because there was a dead person found in the vehicle.

Traffic was stopped in Laurel County as authorities investigated. Southbound I-75 was shut down at mile marker 46:

All lanes were reopened shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday.

This is a developing story.

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