TOWN OF SUMMIT, Wis. — The Waukesha County Sheriff's Office identifies Nathan Poulakos as the 41-year-old man shot and killed Thursday morning following a police chase. The chase ended in a farm field off Highway 67 in the Town of Summit, where deputies shot and killed Poulakos after they say he showed them a gun.
"I thought it was really scary for this neighborhood," Bob Buth said, who lives across the street from where the chase and shooting happened.
The Waukesha County Sheriff's deputies say they pursued Poulakos from Fort Atkinson because of a felony warrant. According to court records, those are for theft by contractor and bail jumping.
The pursuit spanned multiple counties, beginning 30 miles away in Jefferson County. Bill Werning was driving to work when he saw Poulakos driving recklessly and called 911.
Watch: Waukesha County Sheriff's Office identifies man shot and killed following chase
Werning stayed with Poulakos until he reached a Fort Atkinson parking lot. When law enforcement arrived, police say Poulakos took off down Interstate 94 and reached Sawyer Road.
"The way he was driving, literally almost hitting the guardrail on the bridges and stuff, I figured there was definitely something wrong. And obviously he needed to be found or caught, you know?" Werning said.
Jeff Ribar was driving on Sawyer Road when Poulakos nearly hit his vehicle.
"He was about 2 inches away from me, who they were chasing, so I pulled into the farmer’s driveway to get out of the way," Ribar said.
Ribar said he checked his to make sure there was no damage. He said the incident left him shaken, but he is glad his neighborhood is back to normal.
"It's very quiet, except for situations like this," Ribar said.
According to previous records, Poulakos was a convicted felon and should not have been in possession of a firearm. The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the deadly incident.
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