Renville County deputy injured in vehicle chase
An unnamed Renville County sheriff’s deputy suffered non-life-threatening injuries Tuesday when a suspect in a vehicle chase drove his vehicle head-on into a squad car.
According to the Renville County Sheriff’s Office, the injured deputy was taken to the Renville County Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released.
The driver of the suspect vehicle, Mark R. Wendlandt, 32, of Fairfax, was taken to the Renville County Jail from the crash site. According to the sheriff’s office, he is believed to have been under the influence of drugs.
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, law enforcement was dispatched Tuesday at 10:17 p.m. to Fairfax for a report of a suicidal male. The male, later identified as Wendlandt, had left the residence in a vehicle before law enforcement arrived.
The vehicle was later located in Gibbon, where the Gibbon police chief reported that the subject attempted to strike the Gibbon squad car with his vehicle. An attempt to stop the vehicle resulted in a vehicle pursuit that headed west on State Highway 19 toward Fairfax. Despite an attempt to stop the vehicle with stop sticks, the vehicle continued into Fairfax, where the suspect drove into a parking lot, struck a parked trailer, drove onto the lawn of a home, made a U-turn toward a pursuing deputy, hitting the squad car head-on. The suspect turned around, fled, and then hit another squad at an intersection.
One squad had light to moderate damage while the other had severe damage. The suspect’s vehicle was a total loss.
Assisting with the chase were the Fairfax and Gibbon police departments, Minnesota State Patrol and the Fairfax Ambulance service.