St. Paul woman crashes stolen SUV, carjacks good Samaritan on I-94: Charges

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A St. Paul woman crashed a stolen SUV, carjacked a good Samaritan who tried to help and led police on a high-speed chase down the freeway before being arrested, according to charging documents. 

On Jan. 16, St. Paul police responded to a report of a crash on Interstate 94 around 11 p.m. for a vehicle that had rolled over. When officers arrived, they saw a man walking away from the crash who said his car had just been stolen.

The man told police he was driving on I-94 and pulled over to check on a man and woman who were involved in the crash. While he was standing by his vehicle, 22-year-old Sydney McKellepp pushed him from behind and got in his car. The man tried to pull her out of the driver's seat, but he was dragged as she drove off from the scene. 

Patrols began chasing McKellepp, going 70-80 mph down the highway. They deployed a stop stick that deflated a tire and later stopped her by a pit maneuver, and she was taken into custody. 

While talking with investigators, McKellepp allegedly admitted she was in the stolen vehicle when it crashed, but claims the person she was with was driving it. The complaint states on Jan. 10, the SUV was reported as stolen out of St. Paul after the owner said he left it running outside, but it was gone when he checked on it a few minutes later. 

The 22-year-old claimed after the crash, she "hopped into somebody’s car and took it" to get it away from police and refused to stop during the pursuit because she thought she was going to jail, according to the complaint. 

McKellepp was charged in Ramsey County Court with simple robbery, theft of a car, receiving stolen property, and fleeing police. The 22-year-old made her first court appearance Thursday morning.