Crash that killed two teens may have been part of a ‘game’ to flee police, chief says

The 15-year-old driver is charged in the death of his friends.

By Mara Gottfried, Pioneer Press

Friday was the third straight day that North St. Paul police spotted the same stolen car.

Each time, an officer followed the car but called off the pursuit because someone behind the wheel was driving recklessly. But Friday’s chase ended in tragedy, the city’s police chief said Tuesday.

Two passengers, 14- and 15-year-old students at North High School in North St. Paul, died when their 15-year-old friend crashed outside a home in Maplewood. The Ramsey County attorney’s office has charged that teen with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide.

The driver, who the Ramsey County sheriff’s office said has a “significant” history of auto theft, also faces a charge of fleeing a peace officer and three counts of criminal vehicular operation.