Caught On Tape: Suspected Drunken Driver Flees Police
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office has released a squad dash cam video of a suspected drunken driver trapped under his SUV after he fled police.
It happened Saturday night after a deputy saw the driver go past him at about 100 miles per hour on Interstate 35E near the Roselawn Avenue exit. The deputy was taking part in a DWI enforcement crackdown the county was doing with the Maplewood Police Department.
The driver stopped for a moment and then took off at a high rate of speed. Several minutes later, deputies found him trapped beneath his SUV. He had also hit another car before crashing his own vehicle.
"He could have killed himself or anybody else out on the highway that night," said Ramsey County Sgt. Kevin Otto.
The SUV driver had a canceled license because of prior traffic violations. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and faces DWI charges pending the results of blood tests, along with charges of fleeing police.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office conducts at least two high-visibility DWI crackdowns a month in conjunction with other local law enforcement agencies. Last Saturday's crackdown resulted in 18 DWI arrests, plus 319 traffic stops and 111 citations.
They hope releasing the dramatic dash cam video draws attention to their DWI saturation campaigns.
"We want people to know we are out there doing DWI enforcement so it deters people from doing it in the first place," said Otto.
Their next crackdown is set for Saturday, Feb. 12.
