Hospital patient steals car, leads Bemidji police on chase
BEMIDJI, Minn. -- A driver in a stolen Smart car led northern Minnesota police on a chase that ended in a crash Thursday morning.
According to the Bemidji Police Department, officers responded to a report of a stolen red 2009 Smart car from the Sanford Bemidji Medical Center shortly after 10 a.m.
Police located the car on 30th Street Northwest near the north side of Walmart and attempted to stop it. The driver allegedly sped away, traveling west on Highway 2 before making a U-turn at Beltrami County Road 9 and continuing in the opposite direction at a high rate of speed.
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Officers attempted to disable the car using stop strips. The vehicle continued to travel east before it struck the median barrier cables, causing a rollover crash near Jefferson Avenue Southwest.
Police identified the driver as a 55-year-old man from Deer River, who was a patient at the medical center.
