A paroled Colorado inmate who is thought to be linked to the slaying of Texas state's prison chief took state deputies on a 100 mph car chase that ended Thursday when he crashed into a semi and began to shoot at authorities, the Associated Press reports. The incident ended when the inmate, Evan Spencer Ebel, was shot.

Ebel, 28, was operating a Cadillac in Texas that had the same description of the car seen fleeing the residence of prison chief Tom Clements around the time he was shot. Authorities do not believe Ebel will survive.

Colorado investigators rushed to Texas to conclude if Ebel killed Clements, and if he's responsible for the Sunday murder of Nathan Leon, a pizza deliveryman from Denver. Police in Colorado believe the connection is strong, but have not definitely said if Ebel killed Clements and Leon.

Clements' death shocked his quiet neighborhood in Monument, Colo.,the AP reported.

The car chase began when James Boyd, a sheriff's deputy in Montague County, Texas, tried to pull over the Cadillac around 11 a.m. Thursday, saying it was done out of routine, authorities there said.

That’s when the driver began to shoot at Boyd, wounding him, according to Wise County Sheriff David Walker. Ebel immediately fled south before crashing into the semi.

But the crash didn’t stop the driver. Ebel stepped out of the car and continued to shoot at deputies and troopers.

"He wasn't planning on being taken alive," Police Chief Rex Hoskins said, the AP reports.

Boyd was wearing a bulletproof vest, but was brought to a hospital, authorities said. Officials said he wasn’t seriously hurt.

The car is the main link between the Colorado case and the Texas shootout, the AP said.

"We don't know yet exactly whether this is the guy," Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper told reporters Thursday. "There's some indication. I hope it is."

Some of the facts that link Ebel and the Colorado killing are blurry. He was convicted of multiple crimes in 2003 while paroled, but information involving Clements' death could not be released because of the investigation, Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Alison Morgan  said. 

To contact the editor, e-mail: