Charges Filed After Fleeing Suspect Kills Girlfriend in Saint Paul Crash
A high-speed police pursuit in Ramsey County on Friday ended with a fatal crash and the arrest of a 32-year-old Saint Paul man.
The suspect, identified as Dylan John Smith, faces multiple felony charges including fleeing police resulting in death, criminal vehicular homicide and motor vehicle theft.
The incident began around 7:37 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24 when officers were alerted to a stolen 2009 Toyota Camry with Minnesota license plates in the HarMar Mall parking lot in Roseville. Officers located the vehicle unoccupied and monitored the area. Smith and his girlfriend returned to the car and drove off as officers and deputies activated their squad lights. Smith accelerated onto Snelling Avenue, reaching speeds over 90 mph, the documents said.
Ramsey County deputies disengaged the pursuit when Smith drove into oncoming traffic. They spotted the Camry again on Blair Avenue and it was last seen fleeing on Griggs Street, just moments before the crash was discovered. Smith careened into a tree between Edmund and Charles avenues in Saint Paul and deputies found him crawling away from the vehicle. His girlfriend was discovered inside the car, critically injured and unresponsive.
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Medics transported both Smith and his critically injured passenger to Regions Hospital. Smith—who admitted to using fentanyl earlier that day—initially claimed he was not driving the vehicle at the time of the crash. Surveillance footage, however, confirmed Smith was behind the wheel.
The injured woman, identified in court documents as only initials “B.S.,” was pronounced dead at the hospital at 9:50 p.m. — just a day before her 29th birthday.
Smith has a history of at least nine prior felony convictions, including vehicle theft and fleeing police. He is currently being held on $2.5 million bail. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison for the most serious charge and he was set to make his initial appearance on Tuesday morning.
It’s the third fatal crash involving pursuits by Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies in less than two months. On Dec. 9, a fleeing driver crashed into a parked vehicle near Arcade Street and Larpenteur Avenue East in Saint Paul. An occupant in the parked vehicle was ejected and died at the scene. The suspect in that case was arrested and charged.
On Dec. 15, a driver fled from an attempted traffic stop and was pursued by deputies before he crashed into another vehicle near Bellwood Avenue and Edgerton Street in Maplewood, killing the other driver. That suspect is also charged with fleeing police resulting in death.
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