Seven people, including six minors, were hospitalized after the driver of a stolen vehicle fleeing police crashed into a north Minneapolis bus stop Monday afternoon.
A silver Kia with six teenage occupants struck another SUV on Olson Memorial Highway and Penn Avenue, then slammed into a Metro Transit bus shelter around noon, authorities said.
Detectives with the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF) were working on a joint operation with the Minneapolis Police Department when they spotted the Kia, suspected in multiple armed robberies, driving erratically through the North Side.
"When detectives attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver immediately fled," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kelsey Demmert said in a statement. "Due to the violent nature of the earlier incidents, VOTF detectives and MPD officers initiated a pursuit consistent with department policy."
Aerial photos and video from the scene posted by KARE-11 show the twisted wreckage of the bus shelter with metal debris scattered for half a block. The silver Kia's hood was folded in; the entire left side smashed.
Three hours later, Metro Transit workers arrived with heavy machinery to tear down the shelter's remains and sweep away shards of broken glass.
A Hennepin County Sheriff's deputy first spotted the distinctive-looking stolen silver Kia with black wheels on the North Side — hours after a vehicle matching that description was tied to an armed robbery and two attempted carjackings in south Minneapolis, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
MPD joined the pursuit, which wound through some residential neighborhoods and part of Theodore Wirth Parkway at speeds reaching 60 mph, before the Kia ultimately turned into an incoming SUV and careened into the bus station, striking a male pedestrian waiting at the stop. He was taken to HCMC via ambulance.
Six teenagers, five boys and one girl, were in the suspect vehicle at the time of the crash. Several attempted to run away but were quickly arrested. Five were treated at HCMC for noncritical injuries before being taken into custody. One remains in critical condition with a skull fracture, according to a second source briefed on the matter.
The driver of the uninvolved SUV was treated for minor injuries at the scene but didn't require hospitalization.
Under MPD policy, the chase would have been permitted for someone suspected of a violent crime, such as armed robbery.
The crash comes one month after Chief Brian O'Hara moved to relax the department's pursuit policy to allow officers to chase fleeing suspects involved in certain firearm-related offenses, a change he says is meant to curb gun violence in the city.
It's not yet clear how long officers had been chasing the vehicle before it lost control.
