HATE CRIME SUSPECT DIES IN CRASH

A manhunt for a fugitive suspected of running over an 11-year-old black girl last October in Steele died in a traffic accident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

Gregory Owen Reid, 36, of Blytheville, Ark., died in a one-car accident Saturday near Crossville, Tenn., said William G. Eubanks, special agent in charge of the FBI's St. Louis office.

The Oct. 5 incident was under investigation as a hate crime.

The girl reportedly was walking across the street toward some children that afternoon when a pickup truck struck her.

Witnesses told police the driver of the truck intentionally tried to run over the girl, said Tommy Greenwell, Pemiscot County sheriff.

The girl's right leg was broken in the accident, and she suffered numerous cuts and bruises.

Reid was thought to have connections to the Ku Klux Klan and has made attempts to recruit members in Missouri, Greenwell said.