1 killed, 2 injured in crash during police chase in Anoka County, officials say

Pioneer Press
·1 min read

One person was killed and two others injured Monday in a head-on crash during a police chase in Anoka County, officials say.

Law enforcement was pursuing a pair of suspected shoplifters through Linwood Township when the crash occurred on East Viking Boulevard near Typo Creek Drive, according to the Anoka County sheriff’s office, which is investigating with the Minnesota State Patrol.

The pursuit began after a loss prevention employee at Cartfull in North Branch reported to Chisago County dispatchers that a man and woman stole from the store and drove off in a Kia sedan, according to a news release issued by Wyoming Police Chief Neil D. Bauer.

A Wyoming officer spotted a vehicle 10 minutes later that matched the description. The driver went south on Interstate 35 and exited west on East Viking Boulevard.

After being joined by a Chisago County sheriff’s deputy in another squad, the Wyoming officer tried to pull the Kia over at 11:01 a.m. The driver continued west and attempted to pass another vehicle while rounding a turn in a no-passing zone, crashing into an oncoming Lincoln sedan at 11:02 a.m., Bauer said. Both vehicles caught fire, and the officer and deputy extinguished the flames and provided first aid to the occupants.

A man and woman in the Kia were critically injured and taken by helicopter to area trauma centers, where the woman died of her injuries.

A woman driving the Lincoln was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Her injuries were believed to be non life-threatening.

The Kia sedan had been reported stolen earlier.

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