A patient who had just left Licking Memorial Hospital after being admitted for mental health reasons led law enforcement on a pursuit from Licking County to Muskingum County Wednesday afternoon.

According to Detective Tom Porter of the Zanesville Police Department, the man’s family alerted authorities that he was having suicidal thoughts.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol followed the silver Honda Odyssey on Interstate 70 in Muskingum County until the driver hit stop sticks near State Street in Zanesville and crashed through a fence and into a pole in a residential area.

Before police could get to him, the man shot himself in the vehicle and died.

An official cause of death has not been ruled, but authorities are investigating it as a suicide.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol, Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, Zanesville Police Department, Zanesville Fire Department and Genesis Community Ambulance all responded to the scene.