A driver threw a gun out of the window during a traffic stop and fled police in St. Cloud, then soon crashed and killed two people in the other vehicle, officials said Thursday.
The chain of events began about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday on 9th Avenue N. and ended soon afterward with the collision in the 1300 block of 10th Avenue N., police said.
Killed in the crash were a 59-year-old driver and a 45-year-old man in the car with him, according to police. The fleeing motorist, Christopher Johnson-Caine, 26, of Sauk Rapids, Minn., was taken by emergency responders to St. Cloud Hospital with critical injuries, police said.
Police identified the driver as Suleiman Mohamud Abdi and the passenger as Craig Arthur Hennen. Both were from St. Cloud.
Assistant Police Chief Brett Mushatt gave this account:
A police officer spotted a pickup truck speeding on northbound 9th Avenue N. with the headlights off.
The officer pulled over Johnson-Caine in the 1100 block of 8th Avenue N. As the officer approached the pickup, he threw a gun out of the passenger window and sped away. The officer lost sight of the pickup and chose not to pursue.
Upon returning to the scene of the traffic stop, the officer recovered the gun and was alerted by emergency dispatch of a vehicle collision.
