Man slams into 5 vehicles during carjacking, crime spree in St. Cloud

A man embarked on a carjacking and criminal damage spree in St. Cloud on Monday evening that saw him ram into several vehicles.

The St. Cloud Police Department says it was alerted to the incident involving a 35-year-old St. Cloud man shortly before 7 p.m. when it was reported he had struck a stop sign at the intersection of 8th Avenue North and 6th Street North.

But the driver continued and went on to be involved in three more crashes in a short period of time, the third of which saw him intentionally rear-end a van driven by a 48-year-old man, and proceeded to carjack him.

"When the victim exited his vehicle, [the suspect] got into the seat of the victim's van in an attempt to leave the area," St. Cloud PD said. The victim attempted to stop the suspect from driving off, and was dragged a short distance, causing him minor injuries.

The suspect drove off in the stolen van and caused three more crashes, the last one happening at the 1200 block of 29th Avenue North. He tried to escape on foot, but was arrested shortly after.

Five cars in total were struck during this chase and only minor injuries were reported.

The suspect was taken to St. Cloud hospital to be treated for minor injuries, before being sent to the Stearns County jail on multiple charges.

Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.