Driver Fleeing Traffic Stop Crashes, Kills Two Men in St. Cloud

In St. Cloud, Minnesota, a 26-year-old driver from Sauk Rapids fled a traffic stop after throwing a handgun out of his pickup truck window and then crashed into another vehicle, killing two men inside. The crash occurred late Wednesday night after the officer initially pulled over the speeding truck, which had no headlights on, but did not pursue when the driver fled. The pickup broadsided the passenger car at an intersection while traveling at an extremely high rate of speed, resulting in the deaths of the 59-year-old driver and 45-year-old passenger, both from St. Cloud. The suspect was critically injured in the crash and taken to St. Cloud Hospital. Police and the Minnesota State Patrol are investigating the incident. The thrown handgun was recovered by the officer at the scene of the initial traffic stop.