Winona County Deputies Involved in High-Speed Pursuit

(KWNO)- Winona County Deputies were involved in a high-speed pursuit last night on I-90, between the Winona exit and Lewiston exit.

County officials say that at 11:31 p.m. on Feb. 23, they received a call from La Crosse County dispatch explaining they ended a pursuit of a vehicle after it had crossed into Minnesota.

La Crosse County dispatch described the vehicle as a white Jeep Commander and gave a license plate.

Deputies for Winona County then went to I-90 at the Winona exit to be on the lookout for the vehicle.

At 11:53, a Winona County Deputy observed a vehicle that matched the description going 88 mph in a 70-mph zone.

The Winona Deputy then began to follow the Jeep, where the Jeep then sped up to speeds of 100 mph. The Deputy then turned on their police lights and the vehicle still did not stop, now increasing his speed to 120 mph.

A second Deputy stationed further down I-90 was alerted and placed stop sticks out on the road in an attempt to slow the vehicle down. The Jeep hit the stop sticks, blowing two tires and in turn forcing the Jeep to slow down. At this time, the Jeep had reached the area of the Lewiston exit, where it turned into a median.

The Deputy following the Jeep found this to be an opportune time to end the pursuit, and initiated contact with the Jeep while in the median. Both the Deputies squad car and the Jeep were moving at slow speeds at this time.

When the Jeep was struck by the squad car, it moved enough to inch into eastbound traffic, leading to a semi-truck crashing into the Jeep.

The driver of the Jeep, Carl Haugen, born in 1979 of Crystal, Minn. along with the passenger in the vehicle, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. While being treated at the scene by ambulance, Haugen admitted that the reason he fled officers, was because he had a warrant out for his arrest in Wisconsin. Winona County Officials were unaware on what the warrant was for.

Both the passenger and Haugen were taken to CMH Medical Center.

After being medically cleared, deputies arrested Haugen on charges of speeding and fleeing an officer. The passenger was allowed to leave.