Hays ? Officers were justified in killing a man and woman, who were wanted in a Utah slaying, during a shootout that erupted after the pair’s fleeing vehicle crashed, the Ellis County attorney said Friday.

Killed were Alicia Wingate Cardall, 26, of Salt Lake City, and Aaron Millenson, 18, of Englewood, Colo. The two were sought for questioning in the Jan. 14 shooting death of Steven Poulos, 80, of Holladay, Utah.

Homicide detectives for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department became aware of Cardall through a phone call she made to the Poulos home on the day he was killed.

When they contacted her in Denver, she lied to an investigator, prompting police to send two detectives to interview her. Authorities said she had left by the time they arrived, but telephone records showed she was moving east, toward Kansas.

A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper, who had been given the description of the car and its occupants, tried to stop the pair on Jan. 25. But the car fled at speeds exceeding 110 mph, Ellis County attorney Thomas Drees said in a news release.

Even after authorities used deflating devices to flatten two tires, the car kept going and sped into oncoming traffic. The chase ended when the car collided with a concrete bridge support near Hays, the release said.

As cars containing officers for the Highway Patrol and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office approached the suspects’ car, Millenson fired on them. The two officers returned fire, killing both of the suspects, the release said.

“The deaths of Millenson and Cardall were caused by the actions of Millenson,” the release said. “Millenson’s use of deadly force against both officers resulted in the officers’ use of deadly force against Millenson. Cardall’s death was a result of her close proximity to Millenson as he fired upon law enforcement.”