Speeding Pickup Truck Involved in St. Cloud Fatal Crash

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- St. Cloud Police are investigating a fatal crash that killed two men and critically injured another.

The incident unfolded just before midnight Wednesday when an officer spotted a pickup speeding northbound on 9th Avenue North. The officer initiated a traffic stop, and when they approached the pickup, the driver threw an object out of the window and sped off.

The officer lost sight of the pickup and returned to the traffic stop scene to retrieve the item that was thrown out of the window. The officer found that it was a handgun that had been discarded.

At the same time, dispatch notified officers of a crash in the 1300 block of 10th Avenue North.

When they arrived on the scene, officers determined that one of the vehicles involved was the pickup truck that had been involved in the traffic stop.

The initial investigation determined the truck was traveling north on 10th Avenue at a high rate of speed while a car was going west on 13th Street North. The truck broadsided the car, killing the two occupants.

The victims are identified as a 59-year-old male driver and a 45-year-old male passenger, both of St. Cloud.

The pickup driver is a 26-year-old man from Sauk Rapids. He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital in critical condition.

No other information has been released as the investigation continues.