Presumed Gophers starting QB Mitch Leidner appears to have been sacked hard in the offseason by a video replay.
St. Louis Park police thank surveillance video for helping track down Leidner, who's accused of putting a "large dent" in a truck with his pickup and then driving off without fessing up with, say, a note as required by state law.
The bump-and-run occurred on April 5 in the parking lot of Open Box TV, located at Yosemite and Excelsior.
Police told one of my colleagues:
An employee (identified in police records as C.A.V.) at Open Box TV said that he came out and found a large dent on the driver's side of his truck. Surveillance video from a store across the street showed a pickup striking the employee's vehicle and then leaving. The employee recognized the occupants of the pickup as customers who had made a purchase in his store. He turned over the names to the officer. Police contacted Leidner, who reportedly admitted to feeling a small bump when he backed out of a parking spot. But he said that others in his pickup said there was no damage. Leidner said he then drove off without leaving information for the other vehicle's owner.
According to a colleague who talked to Gophers sports PR guy Chris Werle, Werle spoke Wednesday with Leidner about the incident. Leidner maintained that he "brushed another [vehicle] … looked and didn't see much" before leaving.
Werle said Leidner and C.A.V. have spoken and are working out a resolution.
In the meantime, Leidner awaits a June 11 court date to address the misdemeanor charge of driving off after hitting an unoccupied vehicle without leaving some identifying information.