Man fleeing Ohio police with an abducted infant crashes into a home, killing the child

Yellow crime tape blocks off an area (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

TIFFIN, Ohio — A man who abducted a seven-month-old child in Ohio crashed his car into a house while trying to flee from police, killing the infant and critically injuring himself.

The crash in Tiffin occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

The Wood County Sheriff's Office had sent out an alert regarding the man -- whose name was not released -- after he had taken the child earlier in the day in North Baltimore, Ohio, while reportedly armed with a gun. He soon contacted the child's mother and told her he was feeling homicidal and suicidal and claimed he had killed the child.

Authorities did not say if the man was related to the child or its mother, and they did not disclose the child's name or details about how the abduction occurred.

Tiffin Police Chief David Pauly said an off-duty city officer spotted the vehicle and alerted department officials. The officer then began following the vehicle and provided colleagues with information about its location.

Officers in police cruisers soon attempted to stop the vehicle, but authorities said the driver sped up before driving off the road and through the front yard of a home. He then crashed into another residence, knocking it off its foundation.

Law enforcement officers broke out the car's back window to get the infant, who was bleeding from the head and had "laboured breathing," The child and the man were both taken to a hospital, where the infant died a short time later.

The man was later flown by helicopter to a hospital in Toledo, where authorities said he was in critical condition.