Crime & Safety
Head-On Crash In Hopkins Kills Man, Woman's Dog
A car traveling at "extremely high speeds" fled police before the crash Friday, authorities said.
HOPKINS, MN — A 30-year-old Montrose man is dead and a Minnetonka woman is fighting for her life following a high-speed chase and crash in the west metro Friday. Police tried to pull over a Mercury Trace after witnessing it travel at "extremely high speeds" on Minnetonka Boulevard.
The driver continued to flee, authorities said. When speeds became "unsafe," Minnetonka police disengaged.
Shortly after, the fleeing car crashed head-on into a Volvo S6S on Minnetonka Boulevard near Atwater Street. The driver of the Trace — identified as David Phillip Baxter — was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The Volvo driver — 59-year-old Karen Ann Webster — was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. Webster's dog "Ronnie," who was also in the vehicle, did not survive the crash, according to a GoFundMe page established for her.
Minnetonka Boulevard was temporarily closed in both directions after the crash Friday.
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