Clay County authorities this morning were still trying to identify a man who was found dead after a high-speed car chase Tuesday night that ended near Interstate 94 and Minnesota Highway 34 at Barnesville.
The chase is believed to have begun in Page, N.D., after a report of a suspicious person.
A Cass County Sheriff's Deputy turned his vehicle lights on and the vehicle took off, Capt. Rick Majerus said.
"Unless it's life and death, we don't continue on the chase," Majerus said.
A North Dakota Highway Patrol officer followed the vehicle into Minnesota.
ADVERTISEMENT
Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist said the chase crossed into Minnesota sometime around 9 p.m.
Authorities used stop sticks to slow the Jeep Wrangler, which was apparently stolen from Kansas, Bergquist said. The Minnesota State Patrol used a maneuver to bump the Jeep's back bumper and cause it to spin into the ditch.
The driver of the vehicle, a middle-aged man, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a handgun, Bergquist said. The man was declared dead at the scene.
The man did not fire at law enforcement and officers didn't fire at the man, he said.
Once the man is identified, his body will be sent to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner for an autopsy, Bergquist said.
