Overview
- Thailand Taiwan Hawkins, 19, was charged Monday in Hennepin County with multiple felonies after a stolen Hyundai crashed into a Minnesota State Patrol squad car in Minneapolis.
- Deputies first tried to stop the red Hyundai in St. Paul’s Highland neighborhood, then ended the ground pursuit as a State Patrol helicopter tracked the car into Minneapolis.
- The Hyundai blew a stop sign at Aldrich Avenue and West 46th Street at about 80 mph with its headlights off and struck the trooper’s squad, pinning the officer inside.
- The trooper suffered fractures to his right fibula and left shoulder blade and was released from the hospital Monday, while two passengers were hospitalized, including one with a compound leg fracture and a brain bleed.
- Police caught Hawkins after he ran from the scene; he later said it is fun to drive stolen cars, and he remains in the Ramsey County Jail on $250,000 bail as officials label him a significant danger to public safety.