Federal judge orders release of man who crashed while fleeing ICE in St. Paul

A federal judge has ordered the release of a man who authorities say was fleeing from federal officers when he crashed in St. Paul last week.

Witnesses said the Honduran national was going at least 80 mph in a Toyota Prius when he barreled through an intersection and struck a sedan. 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.

The man climbed out of a broken windshield and took off running when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent chased him on foot. He was eventually taken into custody and transported to the hospital by ambulance with non-life threatening injures, the Department of Homeland Security and St. Paul Police said.

The federal judge ordered that the man be released in Minnesota no later than Friday. Government attorneys must also file a status report certifying that the judge's order has been adhered to. 

The man had argued that his detention was unlawful because he was denied a bond hearing, Judge John Gerrard wrote in his summary. 

The federal government had asserted that the man knew he was in the country illegally, as he was "encountered upon entering the country in 2022 and released on recognizance," Gerrard wrote.

"As in previous cases, the government has provided neither evidence nor argument that officials have conducted any of the proceedings necessary to revoke a release," Gerrard said.

The government has not produced "as much as an administrative warrant," the judge went on to write.

After the crash, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her blamed ICE for the crash and called the agency's actions "reckless."