A robber driving his sport-utility vehicle the wrong way while being chased by police struck a car in Monticello, Minn., sending a man and his 1-year-old son to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
The pursuit began Monday evening when a police officer spotted the suspect's vehicle heading south on Hwy. 25 after the robbery at Tootsie's Tavern, on the south shore of Big Lake along Hwy. 10, police said.
The officer followed the vehicle into Monticello, where the suspect, Kevin P. Greene, 47, of Monticello, turned abruptly onto Broadway Street and accelerated. The officer turned his emergency lights and siren in attempt to halt the vehicle.
The suspect was heading east on westbound Broadway when he broadsided the other vehicle at Broadway and Fenning Avenue, authorities said.
Those in the car, driver Travis C. Kolles, 28, of Monticello, and his son, Layton, were both seriously injured. Both were taken to North Memorial Medical Center and were in critical condition Tuesday, a hospital spokesman said.
Greene was arrested immediately, taken to a hospital in Monticello and was expected to survive his injuries.
Law enforcement personnel said Greene had been drinking and was believed to be armed. His criminal history includes a drunken-driving conviction in 2001.
Tootsie's owner Jerry McKernan said that the robber targeted the pulltab booth in the bar for robbery. McKernan said he's unsure whether any money was taken.
"[The robber] said he had a gun, but nobody saw it," McKernan added.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
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