Stolen Kia vaults I-94 overpass during police chase in Minneapolis and tumbles to an embankment below

Two occupants arrested soon after fleeing wreckage

March 3, 2023 at 5:57PM

A driver speeding away from a Minnesota state trooper in a stolen Kia Friday morning in north Minneapolis plunged off an interstate overpass and tumbled end over end to the embankment below, authorities said.

The chase started shortly before 7 a.m. on northbound Interstate 94 just north of downtown and ended near the 49th Avenue N. exit, State Patrol Lt. Gordon Shank said.

Two juveniles ran from the crashed vehicle but were soon arrested, Shank said. Both suffered noncritical injuries, he said.

Traffic cameras tracked part of the chase and zoomed in soon after the Kia SUV crashed. Video showed the vehicle resting on its wheels as one person got out from the driver's side door while the other clawed through the shattered windshield and started running.

According to a statement from Shank:

A trooper spotted the SUV traveling at 94 mph on I-94 near Broadway. The trooper tried to stop the vehicle as the driver took the Dowling Avenue exit, but it sped off.

The driver returned onto northbound I-94, exited at 49th, then lost control and crashed into the overpass bridge.

Shank, who confirmed the Kia was stolen, said the State Patrol will review the chase to determine whether the "pursuit was within policy."

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Pointing to new data showing an explosion in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter on Thursday called on the companies to recall vehicles that are unusually easy to steal.

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Paul Walsh

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Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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