Man Steals Car, Police Chase Damages 6 Vehicles, Including 4 Squads
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 37-year-old man is accused of stealing a car, fleeing from police and damaging six vehicles, four of which were police squad cars.
According to Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson, the incident began Monday afternoon around 4 p.m. Deputies were told of a suspicious vehicle in Watertown Township, which they later determined had been reported stolen.
Investigators say the car had been stolen by Vernon Terry Surratt, of Coon Rapids, who was also a fugitive wanted by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
On Tuesday morning, authorities located the stolen vehicle. Surratt fled on Highway 7, leading authorities on a chase.
Police laid out multiple devices to try to deflate the vehicle's tires. When Surratt swerved to avoid one of them, his stolen vehicle ran into a vehicle sitting at an intersection. He tried to continue the chase, but was boxed in by multiple squad cars and subsequently taken into custody.
The driver of the vehicle Surratt struck at the intersection was taken to a medical center in Chaska. Police say there was a female passenger in Surratt's vehicle who was not injured and "had no involvement in this incident other than being a passenger."
Four squad cars sustained damage in the pursuit. Three were damaged boxing Surratt in, and the fourth ran over the tire deflation devices.
Surratt was treated for minor injuries and is now being held at Carver County Jail.