An unlicensed driver fleeing a late-night traffic stop in St. Paul slammed into a vehicle parked outside a church and killed its lone occupant, officials said Monday.
The high-speed wreck occurred Sunday night at 1669 Arcade St. near Larpenteur Avenue, the State Patrol said, adding that the victim is a 36-year-old St. Paul man. That is the address for Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church.
The fleeing motorist, 28-year-old Lorenzo L. Washington of Minneapolis, was arrested after “a Taser was used to assist law enforcement,” patrol Lt. Mike Lee said.
Washington was driving without a license, a state Department of Public Safety spokesman said Monday.
In October 2014, Washington was sentenced after being convicted of aiding and abetting attempted second-degree murder in connection with a shooting on a Minneapolis street. In August 2023, he was sentenced after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a gun in Woodbury.
Washington left prison on May 29, 2024, and has been on intensive supervised release since then. A warrant was active for his arrest in connection with violating terms of his parole.
Church spokesman Rob Lubke said people routinely park in the lot and take a bus downtown, “and we’re fine with that.”
Lubke said he doesn’t know who parked this particular vehicle in the church lot, but “we’re cautiously optimistic that it’s not a member of one of our communities; not that it makes it any less tragic.”
