St. Paul police officers patrolling the Payne-Phalen neighborhood early Tuesday saw a pedestrian fatally hit by a vehicle.
A man was hit near the intersection of 7th Street and Kittson Avenue around 2 a.m. and died at the scene, said police department spokesman Steve Linders.
One of the officers jumped from the squad car to render aid, while the other officer pursued the vehicle, according to a police statement.
The officer on scene began chest compressions on the victim and called for emergency aid. The victim, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other officer caught up to the striking vehicle on Mounds Boulevard, where the driver pulled over to the side of the road, the statement continued. The officer noticed front-end damage to the vehicle and detected the odor of alcohol on the breath of the suspect, Komeng Xiong, 24, of St. Paul. He was arrested on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide, police said.
This is the third pedestrian fatality in St. Paul this year.
