Eastside Defender

August 1; Minneapolis: Two suspected copper thieves died Friday afternoon when their vehicle hit a tree on Columbia Parkway.

About 3 p.m., two Fridley detectives responded to a tip that copper wire stolen in Fridley was being loaded into a pickup truck in the 3400 block of Fifth Street Northeast in Minneapolis, Anoka County officials said. When they arrived, they saw a pickup truck accelerate and drive away, dropping what officials believe to be stolen property on the street.

The detectives turned on their emergency lights and sirens and followed the truck, officials said. When the truck didn't stop, the detectives turned off their lights and sirens because Fridley police have a no-pursuit policy, said Gordy Hughes, lead dispatcher for the Anoka County Sheriff's Department.

After turning down a nearby street, officers found the truck ablaze, having crashed into a tree in the 600 block of Columbia Parkway in Minneapolis.