Charges: Man fleeing State Patrol reached 100 mph before crashing into vehicle, killing passenger

An unlicensed driver fleeing Minnesota state troopers after a traffic stop in St. Paul hit speeds of more than 100 miles per hour before he crashed into a vehicle in a church parking lot, ejecting and killing its passenger before he ran from the scene last weekend, according to felony charges filed Tuesday.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Lorenzo Leontay Washington, 28, of Minneapolis with criminal vehicular homicide and fleeing a police officer following the chaotic scene Sunday that resulted in the death of Day Por Tho, 36, of St. Paul.

Washington was booked into the Ramsey County jail, and his first court appearance was scheduled for Wednesday morning.

According to charging documents, a trooper spotted Washington driving a Toyota Camry 30 mph over the speed limit about 11:18 p.m. on Dec. 8. The trooper pulled over Washington’s Camry along Interstate 94 East, but Washington fled before the trooper could reach him.

A chase began, and the trooper told law enforcement that Washington was the only person in the vehicle. Washington sped over 100 mph while fleeing police, ignoring troopers’ sirens and traffic controls before police stopped ground-level pursuit. A patrol helicopter sighted and followed Washington until he lost control near the intersection of Larpenteur Avenue E. and Parkway Drive. He drove over a curb and into the parking lot of Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church where Tho sat in his Mazda car. The Camry struck the driver’s side of the Mazda, causing it to spin counterclockwise, throwing Tho 30 feet. before his body landed in the southbound lanes of Arcade Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Washington ran from his car, where officers found and arrested him. Investigators asked Washington what happened after the crash, and he responded, “Uh, commotion ... lights.”

When told he was being investigated for criminal vehicular homicide, Washington “showed emotion” and made comments suggesting he was the Camry’s driver. Washington said he did not see the vehicle he struck but did see the troopers’ emergency lights.

“You’re going to force me to say it,” Washington said after police asked again if he drove the Camry. “I already told you wasn’t nobody else in the vehicle. I believe I told him that already.”

Washington was unlicensed at the time of the crash, and court records show he left prison on intensive supervised release in May. He pleaded guilty to being a felon with a gun in possession in 2023, and was convicted of aiding and abetting an attempted second-degree murder in 2014.

Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.