Hennepin County sheriff pressed for info after 6 kids, 2 adults hurt in high-speed Minneapolis chase, crash
MINNEAPOLIS – We're learning new information about a police chase that ended with a violent crash Monday afternoon in north Minneapolis
According to investigators, eight people, including six kids in a stolen car, were hurt. The car the kids were driving hit another car and then slammed into the shelter at Penn Avenue North and Olson Memorial Highway -- injuring a pedestrian.
Here's what we know. The six kids in the car were between the ages of 12 and 16. According to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, the 12-year-old was driving.
After sifting through call logs and police reports, there are many unanswered questions -- including where those kids are now, and whether the county prosecutor plans to file any charges in this case.
New records obtained by WCCO News describe the play-by-play, turn-by-turn police pursuit of a stolen 2020 KIA Sportage.
The first call to dispatchers came in at 11:50 a.m., as the vehicle was spotted at North 25th and Girard avenues, then moving south on Irving Avenue North. Minutes later, the car sped through an alley and then onto West Broadway Avenue. At this point, 11:54 a.m., officers clocked the car traveling at 55 mph.
At 11:55 a.m., the suspects were seen at North 17th and Xerxes avenues, with the KIA slowed down to 40 mph.
After potentially cutting through Theodore Wirth Regional Park, the car was again seen going east on Highway 55 (Olson Memorial Highway), where it would soon crash into a Metro Transit bus stop at Penn Avenue North. The call for EMS came in at 11:58 a.m.
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Investigators tell WCCO News the stolen vehicle was also suspected in several armed robberies in south minneapolis. Officers would not confirm any specific case, but one police report described an attempted armed robbery in front of an apartment building on South 25th Street early Monday morning. The victim's husband says police told them they were pursuing as many as four groups of kids.
As we spent a lot of time at the records department, we also spent a lot of time trying to get a hold of either MPD Chief Brian O'Hara or Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt. And we're asking many of the same questions you are, including: Why was this chase worth the risk, especially considering the violent crash at the end?
MPD deflected that question to HCSO, which was the lead agency. Sheriff Witt would not make herself available for an interview Tuesday.