Young woman stole squad car, drove it 25 miles, then crashed

An apparently intoxicated young woman stole a University of North Dakota squad car on Sunday, police say, driving it from Grand Forks to Crookston where she was involved in a crash so violent the vehicle's engine broke free.

Yet the driver, 23, suffered only minor injuries, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. She was not a UND student, UND police said.

About 8:40 a.m. Sunday, police from UND and the City of Grand Forks were dispatched to an apartment building on campus, after reports of an intoxicated person who appeared to be lost and disoriented. Two squad cars responded, and officers from both vehicles searched outside the apartment, then entered the building.

When they came out, the UND squad car was gone, said Sgt. Danny Weigel of the University of North Dakota police. A witness on the scene saw a woman — believed to the subject of the police call — hop into the 2015 Explorer and take off, Weigel said.

With a GPS device, the Grand Forks officers located the purloined police car — headed east on U.S. Highway 2 toward Crookston, about 25 miles away. Grand Forks police didn't engage in a high-speed pursuit, Wiegel said.

At about 9:20 a.m., the young woman lost control of the stolen squad on a Highway 2 curve, careening into a ditch at the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 near the University of Minnesota Crookston campus, according to the Minnesota State Police. The car rolled, and UND police pictures on Twitter show a crumpled vehicle, its engine laying on the grass.

The woman was taken to Riverview Hospital in Crookston. Alcohol was detected in her system, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. Weigel said the woman is expected to face charges.

Weigel said he believed, but was not certain that keys were left in the stolen Ford. The myriad electronics in police cars today draw a lot of power, so vehicles are sometimes left running to keep the battery fully charged, he said.

Mike Hughlett • 612-673-7003