Good Samaritan's Truck Stolen By Man Fleeing Cops
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - It's something many of us wouldn't think twice of doing: Stopping along the road to lend a helping hand to a driver in the ditch.
At least that's what Brent Morris thought he was doing when he spotted trouble while on his way to work early Thursday.
But what Morris didn't know is that the man in the ditch was being pursued by Wright County deputies just minutes earlier.
"We had a deputy [driving south] on Highway 25 by the Buffalo Walmart," Lt. Sean Deringer said. "He was passed by a vehicle on the shoulder at a very high rate of speed."
The deputy began a pursuit but ended it as it approached town. The speeding driver evaded capture for the moment but wasn't able to avoid a ditch along County Highway 35.
"All I heard him say was, 'I was in a wreck,'" said Morris, who just happened to be driving by.
Morris was on his way to work and was unaware of the chase. He only knew someone needed help.
"If it was my family, I would want someone to make sure they're all right, regardless of it being 2 a.m.," he said.
But it turns out that the driver he was attempting to help had other ideas.
Morris said 27-year-old Jeremy Sterzinger first threatened him and then punched him in the back of the head. As Morris stumbled back to his feet, he realized Sterzinger was heading for his truck.
"He's digging around in his pockets, and he points a finger at me, like a little toy gun, and then he goes, 'Pow, pow!'" Morris said. "It was like he was going to shoot me."
Deputies quickly caught up to Sterzinger, who crashed about a mile away along 1st Street Northeast and Calder Avenue in Buffalo. That's where he jumped from the truck and ran into a bean field.
Deputies and canine units formed a quick perimeter and Sterzinger was taken into custody within an hour.
Morris's truck may not appear to be a total loss, but the 2010 Ford F150 suffered about $17,000 in damage. Not only did Sterzinger hit a power pole with the truck, but he drove right through it, tearing up the frame and undercarriage.
Still, Morris is thankful and knows that property can be replaced. That's why he says he'd likely stop again and figures his odds of finding another bad apple are pretty slim.
"It's a one-in-a-million chance that something like this is going to happen," Morris said.
Sterzinger appeared in Wright County court on Friday afternoon and is jailed on charges of robbery, assault and fleeing officers.
