Wrong-Way Driver: 3 Hurt After Chase, Crash On I-35E
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Three people were injured, including a state trooper, after a wrong-way driver led police on a chase early Sunday morning in the east metro and collided with another car.
The State Patrol says the chase started shortly after 4:20 a.m. on Interstate 35E in White Bear Lake after trooper pulled over a man who was driving the wrong way on the interstate.
While the trooper approached the man's Kia Sportage, he noticed the driver appeared to be under the influence of drugs. The trooper tried to take the man's keys, but he sped off.
The trooper suffered minor injuries in the incident and gave chase.
The driver continued going the wrong way on Interstate 35E. At times, he was driving 80-100 mph. Troopers tried to use stop sticks and a PIT maneuver on him, but they were unsuccessful.
The driver crashed into a Honda Accord on the ramp to Interstate 494. He was taken to a hospital in police custody. After he's treated, he'll be booked into the Ramsey County Jail.
The driver was not identified.
The driver of the Accord, 64-year-old Randy Paul Carmody of Woodbury, was hospitalized with serious injuries.
The incident remains under investigation.
