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Crime, Law and Justice
Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Authorities: Driver dies by suicide after lengthy police pursuit in southern Minnesota

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Updated: 12:20 p.m.

A lengthy police pursuit Sunday night in southern Minnesota ended when the driver took his own life in a hospital parking lot in Cannon Falls, authorities said.

Authorities said no law enforcement officers fired their guns during the pursuit.

The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office reported that it started around 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the city of West Concord. Authorities said a driver swerved towards a parked West Concord police vehicle on State Highway 56, just missing hitting the side of the police squad. The driver continued north on the highway, with the officer in pursuit.

The officer attempted to make a traffic stop. The vehicle stopped briefly on Highway 56, then went into reverse and rammed into the front end of the officer’s car, disabling the squad and setting off the airbags.

The officer was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and discharged.

Meanwhile, a witness to that incident followed the vehicle and alerted authorities to its location. Deputies tried to stop it, which turned into a pursuit that ended in Cannon Falls, more than 20 miles north of West Concord.

Authorities said the chase ended in the parking lot of the Mayo Clinic Health System hospital, which went into lockdown. Cannon Falls police said the male driver “was given repeated commands and refused to follow them” before he displayed a gun and took his own life.

The name of the person who died has not been released. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the incident.

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