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Sheriff: Suspect Hospitalized After Assaulting Man With Hammer, Fleeing And Crashing

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A southern Minnesota man is hospitalized and awaiting charges after authorities say he beat an elderly man with a hammer, led deputies on a high-speed chase and crashed head-on into a semi truck.

It started Wednesday afternoon when Blue Earth County deputies responded to an assault in Good Thunder. An 83-year-old man told them he was hit repeatedly in the head with a hammer by an acquaintance.

That acquaintance was identified as a 34-year-old man from the town of Evan.

As authorities searched for the man, who was reportedly driving a white pickup truck, they learned he had a handgun, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies found the man driving in Sleepy Eye and tried to pull him over. The sheriff's office said he led deputies on a chase on Highway 15, going around 100 mph at times.

Near 150th Street, the man hit a stopped semi head-on, according to the sheriff's office. He suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized.

The sheriff's office said it expects the man to face assault and fleeing charges.

WCCO typically does not name those arrested until they have been formally charged.

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