The Allen County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the man who led them on a high-speed chase along U.S. 30 on Tuesday morning before he was shot and killed by deputies.

Authorities say Terry Pierce Jr., 46, of Spencerville, was driving a semi stolen from GLM Transport in Van Wert when he led dozens of officers on the pursuit.

They say Pierce was not employed by the company and his motive for stealing the semi is unclear.

The sheriff’s office says their SWAT Team was training at a nearby location and responded to join the pursuit.

The sheriff’s office says Pierce threatened to ram vehicles and to kill people.

Pierce led authorities on a two-hour chase along U.S. 30 and other roads in Allen, Putnam, Hancock and Van Wert Counties before he drove against oncoming traffic on U.S. 30 west of Van Wert and was shot and killed by the SWAT Team.

The incident remains under investigation.

(WFIN) – You and your four-legged friend can head out to Riverside Park this Saturday for the annual Dog-Paw-Looza.

Humane Society & SPCA of Hancock County executive director Paula Krugh said there’s plenty for your dog to do.

The Dog-Paw-Looza will be at Riverside Park from 10 am to 2 pm this Saturday.

You can find more information or pre-register for the dog walk at hancockhumanesociety.com

(WFIN) – The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library is hoping to upgrade its facilities with an expansion project in the future.

Executive Director Jeff Winkle explained that the children’s section is one of the areas in need of an update.

Winkle added that they would like to have more space to host events.

According to Winkle, the projects would require an expansion using the county-owned parking lot on the south side of the library.

Fewer people were killed in crashes on Ohio roads over this Labor Day holiday compared to last.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says there were 10 traffic fatalities over the Labor Day weekend, which is two fewer than last year.

The patrol says alcohol was a factor in at least two of the fatalities, and three drivers were not wearing a seat belt and two motorcyclists killed were not wearing a helmet.

Troopers conducted a total of 30,231 traffic stops over the holiday.

661 drivers were arrested for OVI and more than 4,000 seat belt citations were issued.

Troopers also made 346 drug arrests and 151 felony apprehensions.

Troopers also provided assistance to 3,387 drivers.

Click here for a complete breakdown of the patrol’s Labor Day enforcement.

All the hard work paid off for students in the Jr. Fair Livestock Auction on the final day of the Hancock County Fair on Monday.

We caught up with Jr. Fair Queen Hannah Betts outside the auction.

Hannah, a graduate of Van Buren High School, says people really stepped up to support the livestock sale in what’s been a tough year for farmers.

“We posted a video earlier from the chamber of commerce trying to get different types of buyers, and I believe we’ve had more of a variety of buyers this year due to that video so we’re very happy that they came out to support our youth.”

She said her market turkey sold for $445.

It’s been a very busy time for the fair queen.

As soon as the fair wrapped up late Monday Hannah had to drive to Wilmington College where she could be found in a lecture hall the following morning.

She’s a freshman, studying Agricultural Education and Animal Science.

The City of Findlay says some companies are making false energy service claims.

The city issued the following statement.

The City of Findlay has received reports from residents and businesses that Hudson Energy and potentially other energy companies are stating that they are with the City’s aggregation program. They are not. The companies that the City of Findlay has a contract with for the gas aggregation program is Volunteer Energy and for the electric aggregation program is MidAmerican Energy Services.

Any company that is not a Findlay based business going door to door selling products or services are also required to have a Solicitor License from the City of Findlay. The license expires at the end of each year. They should be able to show you a paper license as well as an ID badge from the City of Findlay. If they are not able to produce these documents, you may contact the Police Department at 419-424-7150 to report it.

The City’s gas aggregation program with Volunteer Energy expires November 2019. The City will be renewing its contract with Volunteer Energy. Letters with information regarding rates and terms will be sent out by early October.

The City’s electric aggregation program with MidAmerican Energy Services expires March 2021.

The Executive Director of the North Central Ohio Chapter of the American Red Cross, based in Findlay, is being deployed as part of the Red Cross response to Hurricane Dorian.

Todd James flew out of the Detroit Metro Airport on Wednesday morning bound for South Carolina where he’ll join the Red Cross communications team.

James will serve as the agency’s spokesperson, working with national and international media.

This is his 27th deployment to a disaster relief operation.

Most recently he was deployed to help with the Memorial Day tornado outbreak in Dayton and the mass shooting in Dayton in August.

It turns out that it may not have been an accident when a large, falling tree branch killed a woman at Hocking Hills State Park on Monday.

Investigators say someone may have dislodged that piece of timber at Old Man’s Cave.

Now, several agencies are trying to track down who might be responsible.

Investigator Captain Schaad Johnson with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says the tree was dislodged by an individual.

“We do have evidence to support that individuals were on the top section above where this incident happened and had dislodged this section of tree.”

When asked if the branch was dislodged on purpose, he said they are investigating that.

He says they did receive a description of the individuals and the incident remains under investigation.

44-year-old Victoria Schafer, of Chillicothe, was killed by that falling branch.

A lengthy police chase along U.S. 30 in multiple counties on Tuesday morning ended when the suspect drove the wrong way on the highway and was fatally shot by officers.

The Allen County Sheriff’s Office says it started a little after 8 a.m. when a Spencerville officer tried to pull over the driver of a bobtail semi for a reported criminal complaint against the driver.

The driver refused to stop and got on U.S. 30 near Delphos and led authorities into Putnam County and then back into Allen County and even into Hancock County before turning back west again.

Police say the driver refused all orders to stop and made multiple threats to ram vehicles on the roadway and kill people.

The driver ran over stop sticks but kept on driving with shredded tires.

Then, about two hours into the pursuit, the suspect, while going westbound on U.S. 30 near Van Wert, entered the eastbound lanes of U.S. 30 and continued to drive against oncoming traffic.

Police at that time determined the man to be an immediate threat to public safety and decided to open fire on him.

The man, identified as a 46-year-old from Allen County, was struck by gunfire and the semi came to stop a little after 10 a.m. near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Feasby Wisener Road.

Police said on Tuesday afternoon that the suspect’s name would not be released until next of kin were notified.

No citizens or officers were injured in the incident.

The incident is under investigation.

Another Hancock County Fair is in the books, and Fair Board President Jeff Cole is very happy with how it turned out.

He’s especially proud of how the community came out to support the Jr. Fair Livestock Sale in what’s been a tough year for farmers.

“Both corporate and private sponsorship, those buyers have united and come together and really supported the sale.”

He says it was unfortunate they had to cancel the tractor pulls on Sunday because of the rain, but otherwise, the weather was great and attendance was very good.

Sunday’s weather was great and people enjoyed the livestock sale, demolition derby and other activities.

No rest for the weary, Cole says the board will begin preparations for next year’s fair on Monday.

“It’s really a year-long affair for us, so we’re already making sure we’re ready for y’all to come back and enjoy the fair in 2020.”