Pursuit That Started In Osakis Ends With Unconscious Suspect Taken To Hospital
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A northern Minnesota man was flown to a Twin Cities hospital Wednesday morning after authorities found him unconscious in a car he had barricaded himself in during a standoff.
The 30-year-old from Baudette was "breathing but unconscious" when a SWAT team pulled him from the vehicle, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said. He was taken to Alomere Health in Alexandria before being flown to Hennepin Healthcare.
The incident began when a caller reported a "suspicious person" in a vehicle at a gas station in Osakis just after 5:30 a.m. A deputy responded, but the person had already left, driving westbound.
The deputy caught up to the vehicle, at which point a female passenger ran while the driver fled.
The sheriff's office said the driver was speeding and throwing things from the vehicle as he went onto Interstate 94.
Once the vehicle became "mechanically disabled," the driver barricaded himself inside and used clothes to block the windows, the sheriff's office said.
A SWAT team responded to assist, and after multiple attempts at verbal contact, SWAT members broke the windows and pulled the driver out.
The sheriff's office said the driver has multiple active felony warrants. The female passenger who fled was found by police and released.
Lanes on both sides of I-94 were closed for a period Wednesday.