Federal pursuit ends in crash that injures 1 in St. Paul, police say
A man was injured Wednesday morning after federal immigration agents pursued him, leading to a crash in St. Paul, Minnesota, authorities say.
The crash happened at the intersection of Western and Selby avenues just before 9:40 a.m., according to the St. Paul Police Department.
Brandon Reader said that he witnessed the crash as he got out of his own car, intending to get a cup of coffee. He said he watched as the red Toyota Prius came down the street at at least "80 miles per hour," being pursued by an unmarked car with police lights and sirens.
Reader said the Prius flew through a stop sign and struck a grey sedan in the intersection. The impact caused the Prius to spin out uncontrollably, at which point it struck a minivan before coming to a stop in a snow bank.
"I'm really glad that I didn't hop out of my car any quicker or I would have been struck," Reader said.
He added that after the crash, the man driving the Prius climbed out of the broken windshield and took off running, and an ICE agent chased the man on foot. Reader said he then called 911, noting it took about 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
There was mass confusion at the scene as agents reportedly took the man into a pickup truck waiting for the ambulance, according to Reader. He was then transported to the ambulance under what appeared to be a white sheet, prompting concerns that he had died; both DHS and St. Paul Police said that he suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
"The preliminary information we received was that federal agents were pursuing a person in a vehicle when the vehicle crashed," police said.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were attempting to conduct a targeted vehicle stop of a man from Honduras who is in the country illegally.
The man "tried to evade law enforcement and began driving recklessly and ran red lights, endangering public safety and law enforcement," said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
McLaughlin said the man crashed his car into multiple vehicles, including an ICE vehicle.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her blamed ICE for the crash and called the agency's actions "reckless."
"The incident today at Selby and Western underscores the fact that ICE is still present, causing chaos, and putting residents at risk in Saint Paul," Her said, adding that "Operation Metro Surge needs to end immediately."
Her said multiple bystanders' cars were damaged in the crash.
Video from the scene showed someone being put in the back of an ambulance and at least three vehicles involved in the crash.
A crowd gathered at the scene following the crash.
