A deputy’s attempt to pull over an Acura RDX just after midnight Saturday in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood turned deadly within moments, after the driver sped off and the SUV slammed into a tree, ejecting both men inside. One died at the scene; the other was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
According to KSTP, a deputy tried to stop the SUV at Rose Avenue East and Burr Street North, and the driver refused to pull over. The deputy stayed roughly three blocks behind as the Acura reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, authorities said. The Pioneer Press reports the initial stop happened in the Payne-Phalen area just after midnight Saturday.
The chase ended when the SUV hit a dip in the road at Wheelock Parkway, lost control, and struck a tree near Payne and Nebraska avenues, per the same account. Both occupants were thrown from the vehicle in the crash. The station's report notes that one man was pronounced dead at the scene, while the second was rushed to a hospital, where he did not survive.
Driver Believed to Have Had Outstanding Warrants
Authorities said they believe the driver was a 27-year-old man who had several outstanding felony warrants, including for drug possession, trafficking, and fleeing police. The passenger was identified by authorities only as a 29-year-old man. The sheriff’s office said it will release both men’s names once the medical examiner positively identifies them and next of kin have been notified.
Investigators have not said what prompted the attempted traffic stop in the first place. That detail has not been made public as the investigation continues.
Not the First Deadly Pursuit This Year
This is not the first fatal crash tied to a Ramsey County sheriff’s pursuit in recent months. In September, a man died in a St. Paul crash on English Street after fleeing a deputy; Sheriff Bob Fletcher said at the time that the deputy had terminated the pursuit before Third Street and lost sight of the vehicle, according to twincities.com.
Minnesota State Patrol guidance, published on the agency's use-of-force and pursuits dashboard, states that a pursuit should be called off when the risks of continuing outweigh the need to immediately apprehend a fleeing driver or passengers, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Separately, for a pursuit of a motor vehicle being operated in violation of section 609.487, state law requires that a department head file notice of the pursuit with the commissioner of public safety within 30 days, per the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes.
Ramsey County sheriff’s pursuits have drawn scrutiny before. In a 2020 incident, deputies used stop-sticks to deflate a tire on a stolen car that Sheriff Fletcher had been following through St. Paul, a pursuit that later prompted county commissioners to raise concerns, according to a prior twincities.com report.
No further details about Saturday’s crash have been released, and the identities of the two men remain pending as authorities await confirmation from the medical examiner.
