Wyoming, Minn. police chase ends in deadly crash in Anoka County

LINWOOD TOWNSHIP (FOX 9) - A police chase on Monday in the north Twin Cities metro ended in a deadly crash, claiming the life of one of the people inside the wanted vehicle.

Wyoming, Minnesota police say the incident started around 10:48 a.m. with a report of a shoplifting at Cartfull in North Branch. Witnesses were able to get a license plate number and description of the vehicle, which Wyoming police spotted about 10 minutes later on I-35 south.

The vehicle got off the highway on East Viking Boulevard and continued into Anoka County, while the Wyoming police officer waited on a Chisago County deputy to make the traffic stop.

Law enforcement officers say they tried to stop the vehicle a few minutes later, around 11:01 a.m., on East Viking Boulevard. But, instead, police say the driver took off. Less than a minute later, police say the driver attempted to pass a vehicle over the double yellow line and crashed into a passenger vehicle.

As a result, both vehicles caught on fire. Police say both people inside the pursued vehicle were seriously hurt. Hours later, police say the passenger in that vehicle.

The person in the other vehicle suffered non-life threatening injuries, police said.

UPDATE: The Anoka County Sheriff's Office has now released the identities of the people involved in the crash. According to deputies: 41-year-old Joseph Cady of St. Paul was the driver of the fleeing vehicle who was critically injured. Thirty-year-old Jessica Sellers of St. Paul was the passenger in the fleeing vehicle who was killed. Fifty-nine-year-old Debra Hirsch was the driver in the other vehicle that was hit by the fleeing vehicle. Deputies said Tuesday that she suffered serious injuries but was expected to survive her injuries as of Monday.