A 34-year-old man with a history of drunken driving slammed his car into another motorist while fleeing police early on Sunday in Maple Grove, killing himself and the other driver.

Jeramiah Robert Wall of Albertville had been stopped for possible drunken driving by a deputy with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office about 1:15 a.m., according to the State Patrol.

After the deputy talked to him, Wall took off on County Road 81, running a red light at the intersection of 93rd Avenue N. and crashing into a vehicle driven by a 29-year-old woman from Buffalo.

Wall and the other driver both died at the scene.

"It just demonstrates the dangers of fleeing," said State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske, "and the selfishness of it. These people have no regard for their safety or the safety of others."

Wall's death marked the second time in less than two days that a motorist died in the Twin Cities while fleeing authorities. On Friday, a motorcyclist chasing an ex-girlfriend on Hwy. 61 in St. Paul died after he tried to flee a state trooper. Robert Dennis Davis, 30, of Madison Lake, Minn., slammed into a grove of trees after taking off on Lower Afton Road. He died later that day.

Roeske said it is "incredibly frustrating" to deal with fleeing motorists and the mayhem their actions can cause.

"These [accidents] are very preventable," Roeske said. "All they have to do is stop. Unfortunately, [fleeing] is something that happens quite frequently."

It's both dangerous and, usually, futile, Roeske added.

"Very, very, very few get away," he said.

A long record

Wall had a long arrest history, ranging from driving after revocation and drug possession to driving while intoxicated and criminal vehicular homicide/injury, according to records at the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

He was convicted of a gross misdemeanor in the criminal vehicular homicide/injury case and given a one-year sentence with two years of probation, BCA records indicate.

State records also say that Wall was convicted of assault in 1998, drug possession in 2003, damage to property in 2003 and driving while impaired in 2004. Only the drug charge was a felony.

Booking records show that Wall was booked twice into the Washington County jail in 2006 for suspected drunken driving. No records were available on the outcome of those cases.

As of Sunday night, authorities did not know for certain whether Wall was intoxicated or what his blood alcohol level might have been before the crash that killed him.

Victim's ID withheld

The State Patrol had not yet released the name of the woman who died because they were still trying to reach her next-of-kin.

Her father is camping in northern Minnesota, out of cellphone range, and authorities have not been able to reach him.

Roeske said the victim's identification might not be available until Monday. It might also be Monday before investigators determine how fast Wall and the deputy chasing him were going.

Roeske said the deputy was "not in close proximity" to Wall at the time of the crash.

"I know that the deputy was far behind the fleeing vehicle," he said. "But I can't tell you if it was a block or 500 feet or a mile away."

Heron Marquez Estrada • 952-707-9994