Crash involving stolen car, Minnesota state trooper captured on camera
A stolen car evaded police for two nights, only to end up crashing into a Minnesota state trooper's vehicle in south Minneapolis.
The 80 mph collision severely injured the trooper and two passengers in the back of the stolen car. Ramsey County Sheriff's deputies watched it happen during their efforts to bring the car to a stop and arrest the driver, capturing the crash on camera. This was at about 10:30 p.m. on Friday; the car was also spotted fleeing from police in Edina on Thursday night.
"Once it comes to our county, we are going to follow it into Minneapolis to get people in custody," Sgt. Thomas Segelstrom said.
Deputies were live-streaming on the Ramsey County sheriff's "Live on Patrol" online at the time. According to Segelstrom and investigators, deputies initially began chasing the car in St. Paul, but terminated the chase once the car was in Minneapolis. He said that deputies determined the situation had become too dangerous, noting that the car was moving at high rates of speed and ignoring stop signs, but that didn't mean that deputies gave up.
Segelstrom said that deputies worked with other police agencies to continue tracking the car. Crucially, a state police helicopter was able to keep watch from the sky.
"Ideally, we always want flight involved. That's our best tool. If we can track it without having to actively pursue it, that's what we're going to do," Segelstrom said.
In the live stream, you can hear deputies taking directions from the helicopter crew. At several points, the deputies discuss getting "sticks" ready, referring to devices that could help stop the car.
As they pull onto Aldrich Avenue, the stolen red Hyundai narrowly misses hitting the deputies while traveling northbound. It's just moments later that the stolen car T-bones the trooper in the intersection of Aldrich and 46th Street. That trooper, according to a Ramsey County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, was also assisting in tracking down the stolen car.
Court documents show that he suffered a fractured right fibula and fractured left scapula. One of the passengers in the stolen car was hospitalized with neck pain; the other was hospitalized with a "significant" brain bleed.
The 19-year-old driver appeared in court on Wednesday. He faces four felony charges.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office shared data that shows that there is a slight uptick year-over-year in car thefts, but thefts are down significantly when compared to 2022. In the first four months of 2026, there were 382 stolen cars, up from 327 in the same time period in 2025. In 2022, there were 1,155 car thefts.