Wife Of Innocent Driver Killed By Suspect Fleeing Police Expresses Shock, Sorrow
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Police say an innocent man was hit and killed by a driver fleeing Minneapolis officers Wednesday evening.
Jose Angel Madrid Salcido is survived by four children and his wife.
Investigators say officers were called to a possible drug deal involving two cars on the 3300 block of Aldrich Avenue North at about 6:20 p.m. Two officers got out and approached one of the vehicles. When an officer went back to the squad car to use the computer, one of the vehicles fled.
The victim's wife, who is upset and shocked, says she's still trying to understand the why her husband died.
Police say the officers attempted to go after the fleeing vehicle but discovered they crashed into Madrid Salcido's vehicle a little more than two blocks away on the 3600 block of Aldrich Avenue North.
RELATED: Police: Innocent Driver Killed By Suspect Fleeing Minneapolis Officers
Lynette Harvey-Peters lives a few houses down from where the crash happened.
"We just heard these really loud noises. I thought, of course, gun violence, gunshots, because that's what we are used to hearing," Harvey-Peters said.
She can't shake what she saw outside her home.
"It was just gruesome to see them have to pry the guy out ... to lose his life to something like this. It's terrifying to me," Harvey-Peters said.
Madrid Salcido moved to Minneapolis four years ago from Chihuahua, Mexico. His wife, Martha Perea, has been here for two years. She told us she came home and noticed the police presence, drove the detour around it and into her driveway.
Her husband should have been home, but he wasn't and neither was his car. When Perea walked the few blocks back to the crash site, she found his car. He was already at North Memorial, where he died.
Perea describes Madrid Salcido as a wonderful husband and father who stayed out of trouble and worked really hard. He was the sole provider for the family and without him, Perea says they're not sure what to do.
Perea says they have no family here. They're still trying to figure out funeral arrangements.
The 27-year old suspect has a lengthy criminal history. Court records show he got back behind the wheel more than a dozen times after his license was revoked. He was also convicted of fleeing from a Brooklyn Park police officer last year.
A woman claiming to be the mother of his child came to the scene of the crash Thursday afternoon.
"I want to send my condolences, anything we can do to help the family … I just know that my baby father is not what the news is trying to say he is, he is a great man," she said.
The suspect was arrested at the scene. He will be booked into jail on probable cause murder.
As of Thursday afternoon, formal charges haven't been filed.
