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1 Dead After Short Police Chase In N. Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A man died Wednesday after a police chase and crash in north Minneapolis.

The crash happened around 2 a.m. at the intersection of Penn and West Broadway avenues. The driver of the car was ejected after it hit another vehicle and crashed into a building.

The driver died at the scene.

According to police, the chase started when the driver almost hit a police car head-on.

"The officers were traveling north on Penn Avenue, and the suspect was traveling southbound," said Deputy Chief Kris Arneson. "He came across the line and almost collided with the officers. The officers took evasive maneuvers and were able to avoid a crash successfully. They turned around...and stopped the vehicle in about a block."

Dash camera video shows what officers did next.

"They approached the car and tried to get him to roll down his window, and he refused, taking off at a high rate of speed," Arneson said.

With lights and squad sirens blaring, officers tried to catch up with the driver.

But he had a big head start.

That driver ended up clipping a mini-van in the intersection of Broadway and Penn. He then hit a building and was ejected from the car.

"It's a very tragic event all around," Arneson said.

He says the tragedy not only impacts officers but it is devastating to the family.

Sources close to the investigation say the driver was charged with endangering a child last month in a similar incident.

According to court documents, the driver was involved in a hit-and-run accident and drove backwards down Cedar Avenue to get away from police, all with his 2-year-old child in the back seat.

Arneson says the officers followed department chase policies and did exactly what was necessary to keep the public safe.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office will release the name of the driver on Thursday.

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