2 Men Die In Crash After Stealing Lyft Car In Central MN: Police

ST. CLOUD, MN — Two men died in central Minnesota early Tuesday morning after stealing a Lyft car, driving more than 110 mph, and crashing into trees on the side of a county road, according to a joint news release from the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office and St. Cloud Police Department.

Police say a Lyft driver picked up two men in St. Cloud around 1 a.m. The passengers did not appear to know where they were going. At one point, a man in the back reached up over the seat and grabbed the steering wheel, causing the car to nearly veer off the road, according to investigators.

The Lyft driver stopped the car, and the same man again reached over the seat and grabbed him by the shirt and seat belt, pulling him backwards while threatening to kill him, police said.

The driver got out of the car and called the police. The two men drove off in his car at "a high rate of speed" westbound on Minnesota Boulevard towards 15th Avenue Southeast.

Minutes later, a Sherburne County deputy — parked on the side of County Road 8 — saw a car speeding southeast. The deputy clocked the car going 112 mph as it drove past him, investigators said.

While trying to catch up with the vehicle, the deputy smelled smoke and saw vehicle wreckage near County Road 8 and 38th Avenue. The Lyft car had crashed into trees on the south side of County Road 8.

One man was ejected and died at the scene. The other was transported to St. Cloud Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The identities of the two men will be released when their families are notified. The Lyft driver was not injured in the incident, according to authorities.

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Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Lyft