Teen Charged In Stolen Car Crash
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A teenager has been charged with stealing a car in Rochester and leading police on a chase in Dakota County that ended with a crash into a Hastings area residence.
Nineteen-year-old Eric Tyler Lee, of Rochester, has been charged with four felony counts in connection with the June 14 incident.
According to the criminal complaint, a Dakota County sheriff's deputy saw Lee driving a vehicle at 80 miles per hour along Highway 52 near 215th Street just before 5 a.m.
The deputy tried to pull Lee over, but Lee gave chase, accelerating to speeds greater than 100 miles per hour, the charges state.
At one point, the driver ran over stop sticks and continued driving until a sheriff's deputy could initiate a PIT maneuver to stop him.
The vehicle ran into a tree and residence at 15th Street and Erickson Drive. The house sustained some damage, authorities said.
Lee and his passenger ran off, but were found hiding under a tree not far away.
The deputy noted Lee's eyes appeared bloodshot and glassy, and noted a strong smell of marijuana. Lee told the deputy he had smoked it before the chase began.
The passenger, who was a juvenile, sustained head injuries. A deputy noted there was hair and flesh wedged into the smashed windshield. Police said he was released to his parents.
Lee has been charged with criminal vehicular operation, receiving stolen property, fleeing an officer and financial transaction card fraud.
