By Nick Ferraro
Pioneer Press
RAMSEY COUNTY, Minn. — A 19-year-old who fled a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy in a stolen car in St. Paul late Friday and crashed into a Minnesota State Patrol car in Minneapolis at 80 mph told officers that he has “fun” driving in stolen vehicles, charges say.
Thailand Taiwan Hawkins, of Minneapolis, ran a stop sign at West 46th Street and Aldrich Avenue South and slammed into the State Patrol car, injuring a trooper and two passengers in the stolen car, according to felony charges filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court.
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The crash pinned the state trooper inside the squad car, leaving the officer with a broken leg and shoulder blade. Hawkins’ passengers were also hospitalized, with one suffering a compound leg fracture and a significant brain bleed.
The trooper has been released from the hospital, the State Patrol said Monday.
The crash was caught on “Live on Patrol,” a live stream started by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher. Fletcher was not on the stream, but deputies Ben Seidl and Pat Scott were directed to the area of the fleeing red Hyundai. Dash cam video showed the driver speed past in the car, narrowly missing the deputies’ squad. “He just about hit us!” Scott told viewers. Within seconds, the crashed occurred. “We got a collision,” Scott said on the squad radio.
According to the criminal complaint:
Officers on Friday took a report that someone stole a red Hyundai the night before. A witness reported seeing two teens breaking into the car and driving away in it. Officers found a door handle and other parts of the car.
The Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy spotted the stolen Hyundai about 10:30 p.m. in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul. The driver fled and crossed the Ford Parkway Bridge into Minneapolis before the deputy lost sight of the car and ended the pursuit.
A State Patrol helicopter continued to track the car, which sped through the stop sign at 46th Street and Aldrich Avenue without headlights and crashed into the side of the State Patrol squad car.
The driver, who was later identified as Hawkins, ran from the stolen car and was arrested by police a short distance from the crash. His two passengers stayed in the car.
In an interview with police, Hawkins “admitted that it is fun to drive around in stolen vehicles,” the complaint read.
According to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the same stolen car was involved in a pursuit the previous night in the west metro, during which it swerved at emergency vehicles but did not hit them.
Hawkins, who is in custody at the Ramsey County jail, has been charged by warrant with three counts of criminal vehicular operation and one count each of receiving stolen property and fleeing police in a motor vehicle.
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