Sheriff: Driver Fleeing Authorities Crashes In Meeker County

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 29-year-old Kingston man is facing charges after fleeing authorities in an apparent stolen truck on Friday before crashing into a ravine.

The Meeker County Sheriff's Office was involved in the chase at about 5:46 p.m. Friday that started after a vehicle failed to stop for a stop sign and nearly hit another car at the intersection of County State Highways 19 and 27 in Kingston Township. A sheriff's deputy initiated a traffic stop, and the driver fled.

Authorities say the driver went off the road and through a fence at a ball field. The driver returned to the road for a short time before going off into a field again east of 308th Street on 724th Avenue. The chase ended after the driver went down into a small ravine and crashed. The vehicle was a 1996 Chevy pick-up truck and had been stolen out of Wright County.

The driver, identified as Brian Brottem of Kingston, was airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital. A passenger, identified as 30-year-old Nathan Psyk of St. Cloud, was taken by ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

After being released from the hospital, Brottem was arrested for multiple charges and taken to the Meeker County Jail.

The Meeker County Sheriff's Office was assisted at the crash scene by Dassel Fire and Rescue and the Minnesota State Patrol.