2 teens dead, 3 hospitalized after stolen vehicle police chase ends with SUV split completely in half

A police chase of a stolen vehicle involving five juveniles ended in a horrific crash this week, with two teenagers dead and three hospitalized — and the SUV they had stolen split completely in half.

What are the details?

KARE-TV reported that the incident began Wednesday evening in Minneapolis, when a Mercedes SUV was reported stolen near 12th Avenue North and Fremont Avenue. Police later described the incident as an armed carjacking.

Several hours later, at approximately 2 a.m. Thursday morning, police in nearby Robbinsdale located the vehicle and attempted to detain the suspects, but they drove off and a high-speech chase ensued.

"The chase moved from Robbinsdale into northeast Minneapolis, where the driver of the SUV lost control near the intersection of Lowry Avenue and Hayes Street," the outlet reported, adding that "the crash tore the Mercedes in half, with the two sections landing on opposite ends of the intersection."

In a news release issued Thursday, Robbinsdale police reported that all five individuals in the vehicle were under 18 years old.

One suspect — reportedly found outside the vehicle — was pronounced dead at the scene, while the four others were transported to a local hospital for treatment. At the hospital, another of the suspects died from their injuries.

"The other occupants are currently being treated for substantial, non-life-threatening injuries," police said, adding, "This is an unfortunate incident for all involved."

Robbinsdale Police Captain John Kaczmarek reported that the three remaining suspects are "up and talking" in the hospital.

What else?

The officers who pursued the suspects did not crash during the chase and no officers sustained any injuries in the incident, KARE reported. Kaczmarek said that he didn't know what speed the fleeing vehicle reached during the chase.

"Carjackings have been on the rise, I think everyone knows that. Even in the western suburbs, we’ve had an increase in carjackings, violent carjackings," the police captain added. "Obviously we attempt to stop those individuals from performing those."

"The vehicle fled, and we attempted to pursue it and apprehend the suspects," he noted, clearly troubled by the outcome. "It's an unfortunate incident."

The Robbinsdale Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident with assistance from Minnesota State Patrol, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

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