Lehighton state police said Friday they are still conducting interviews in the shooting death of a man following a high-speed chase Tuesday night.

Police said in a release, “Multiple interviews have been conducted, and subjects involved are being reinterviewed.

“All evidence associated is being processed to ensure a proper and thorough investigation. This investigation is ongoing and will be updated appropriately when available.”

On Wednesday, the Lehigh County Coroner’s office identified the deceased man as Danny Washington, 27, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Washington was pronounced dead at 7:09 p.m. Tuesday at St. Luke’s Allentown Campus.

Washington, who died of a gunshot wound to the torso, was one of five people inside a minivan that led officers on a high-speed chase through the county. The chase started outside of Hazleton and ended on Interchange Road across from Wentz Auto Body and R.F. Ohl’s Plumbing.

The four other occupants, Creshaun Demetrick Caldwell, 23; Mitchell Lawrence Knight, 27; Cedric Lamont Cason, 39; and Tyrone Wesley Parker Jr., 19, all of Florida, are in custody.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, Knight was the driver of the minivan. He was identified as the driver after a KFC receipt found in the vehicle led police to review surveillance footage that showed him driving the minivan earlier that day.

As the officer was trying to take Washington into custody, troopers said the two struggled and the officer’s service weapon discharged, striking Washington.

Police have not named the officer or the municipality he works for.

The struggle came after police disabled the white Chrysler minivan, which reportedly reached speeds up to 90 mph during a 17-minute chase across the county.

The chase

The chase began after an officer with Beaver Meadows Police Department stopped the minivan for violations.

During the traffic stop, the van fled and a pursuit began. Multiple local police departments including Weatherly and Nesquehoning joined in the pursuit as it traveled down Route 93 south, onto Route 209 north through the boroughs of Jim Thorpe and Lehighton, and eventually across the Thomas J. McCall Memorial Bridge into Franklin Township, where police disabled the vehicle.

The minivan came to a stop on Interchange Road near Court Street in Franklin Township. The suspects reportedly refused to get out of the vehicle, prompting multiple police officers to approach the vehicle to take them into custody.

Caldwell, Knight, Cason and Parker were charged with 11 counts of receiving stolen property. Knight also faces charges of fleeing or attempting to elude police, drug possession, recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, driving without a license, driving on the right side of the road, driving at an unsafe speed, careless driving and reckless driving.

After the chase, officers returned to an area along Route 93 where they saw someone in the vehicle throw items out of the van.

Among the items they found were 11 blank bank checks, which had been reported stolen out of Mayfield, Lackawanna County.

The four suspects were arraigned and sent to the Carbon County Correctional Facility. Bail for Caldwell and Cason was set at $100,000 straight; $50,000 straight for Parker; and $100,000 straight and $1 million 10 percent for Knight on the two sets of charges.

Caldwell and Parker are reportedly from the Fort Lauderdale area, while Knight is from Sun City and Cason is from Lauderhill.

They are all scheduled for preliminary hearings on Jan. 2 before Magisterial District Judge William J. Kissner of Palmerton.

Magisterial District Judge Joseph Homanko of Weatherly ordered that the men be required to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet if they post bail.