Driver gets 10-year prison term for crashing stolen car during Anoka County police chase, killing passenger

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for crashing a stolen car into another car while fleeing police in Anoka County, killing his passenger and seriously injuring the other driver.

Joseph Mario Cady, 42, received his sentence Friday in Anoka County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in connection with the July 11, 2022, head-on crash in Linwood Township that killed Jessica Lynn Sellers, 30, of St. Paul.

The 60-year-old driver of the car that Cady struck, Debra Lee Hirsch, was taken to the hospital in serious condition, with a broken foot and toe, cracked ribs, cuts and other trauma. A family dog in the car died and another was injured.

Hirsch was 15 minutes from home in Wyoming, returning from the family cabin, her son, Nick Hirsh, wrote on a fundraising website.

According to the criminal complaint and the Anoka County sheriff’s office:

An employee at Cartfull reported just before 11 a.m. that a man stole from the North Branch store and drove away in a Kia Forte. A Wyoming officer saw the driver, later identified as Cady, headed south on Interstate 35 and exit onto westbound Viking Boulevard. The car had been reported stolen in Washington County.

Cady fled police and sheriff deputies. He continued west and attempted to pass a truck while rounding a turn in a no-passing zone, crashing at 11:02 a.m. into Hirsch’s Lincoln sedan that was heading east on Viking Boulevard near Typo Creek Drive.

Both cars started on fire. Emergency personnel arrived, finding an unbelted Cady on top of Sellers, who was unconscious and strapped into the passenger seat. Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the fires and treat the injured.

Cady and Sellers were airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she died at about 12:30 p.m.

A Minnesota State Patrol crash reconstruction report concluded that Cady was driving 79 to 86 mph in the 50-mph zone, while Hirsch was traveling 43 to 47 mph. Medical reports showed that Cady had meth in his system and was driving without a license, the complaint says.

State court records show that Cady has a criminal history that dates back to 2003. He has five convictions for theft, three for illegal gun possession, two for violating no-contact orders and once each for terroristic threats, financial transaction card fraud, drug possession, lawful gambling fraud, disorderly conduct and driving after suspension.

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