Chase speeds reach 80 mph

A Red Wing man was taken into custody in the woods off Withers Harbor Drive early Friday morning after leading police on a chase through town at speeds up to 80 mph.

Richard Siebold III, 35, of 752 1/2 McSorley St., was jailed on multiple charges, including felony fleeing in a motor vehicle. In addition, there was an outstanding warrant out for his arrest on charges of interfering with a 911 call.

Events began to unfold at 2:08 a.m. in the neighborhood of the Kwik Trip on West Seventh Street, said Investigative Sgt. Craig Lunde of the Red Wing police department. That’s when a Goodhue County sheriff’s deputy called in to report he was about to make a traffic stop.

A moment later, the deputy reported that the vehicle refused to stop. He and Red Wing police began pursuing the suspect vehicle, a minivan.

The van drove around the neighborhood briefly, and the driver may have attempted to ram two squad cars before speeding away.

“Officers had that perception,” Capt. Darold Glander said, but it’s also possible the driver lost control as his vehicle approached the squads near Eighth Street.

Glander said police have the pursuit on camera; he was reviewing those recordings on Friday.

A new system was installed this week in one squad, he added, giving him a digital image that can be reviewed on a computer. The other squads and the county vehicle also have videotapes they filmed during the chase.

From the gas station area, the van proceeded up College Avenue, turned around and came back down College, turned left down East Avenue then left again on Highway 61, Lunde said. The pursuit was at speeds of 30 to 80 mph.

The driver made another left onto Withers Harbor Drive. He lost control on the right-hand curve and went downhill and across the bicycle path, Lunde said. The van, which at some point experienced a flat tire, stopped just short of Hay Creek.

The suspect got out of the van and began fleeing on foot, with several officers in pursuit. He refused orders to stop, Lunde said, so police tasered him before he reached the creek. He fell toward the water, so the Taser was de-activated and the man was able to cross to the far side of the creek.

Officers were unable to use the Taser a second time, Lunde said, because a cable broke.

“They had to physically take him into custody,” the investigator said.

One officer had a minor abrasion sustained during the chase through the creek, Glander said, but he did not require medical attention.

The entire chase took less than 10 minutes, Lunde said.

Siebold was arrested on suspicion of fleeing, fourth-degree DWI, third-degree refusal to test and the warrant charge, and booked into the Goodhue County jail.

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