Arson Suspect Ends Night In Fiery Crash

A man police suspect of committing arson earlier in the evening ended the night on fire, himself, in a crash Thursday night along Interstate 394.

Just before 10 p.m., a car traveling eastbound along the highway left the roadway, broke through the fence that separates the interstate from Ridgedale Drive and crash-landed in front of the  store. The car then "exploded" into flames and “badly burned” the car’s driver,  said.

In a new development, Minneapolis police tell Patch the victim in this gruesome crash is also suspected of committing arson earlier in the evening in South Minneapolis.

According to Minneapolis Police Sgt. Stephen McCarty, police and fire units were called to the 2500 block of Cedar Avenue after a call came in reporting a “domestic situation” with “fire.”

“The suspect in that fire left and ultimately ended up in this accident on 394,” McCarty told Minnetonka Patch today.

Witnesses reported seeing fire coming from within the car prior to the driver veering off the interstate and crashing, according to Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske. The car was traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash, he said. 

While citizen first-responders have offered conflicting accounts of the moments immediately following the crash, Minnetonka Police Sgt. Allen Ringate told Patch the sole occupant of the vehicle, despite being "on fire himself," managed to escape the car on his own.

The man was still fully engulfed in flames, police say, as bystanders unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the flames before the Minnetonka Fire Department arrived. 

Arson investigators are looking into the domestic situation and fire that they say preceded this fiery crash, while the Minnesota State Patrol is handling the actual crash investigation.

The driver of the car was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and, as of Friday morning, was listed in critical condition, the State Patrol said.