1 dead after stolen North Dakota squad car crashes into semi

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Police say a man who stole a squad car to flee from arrest was killed when he crashed nearly head-on into a semitrailer on Interstate 29 in North Dakota.

Authorities say officers making a welfare check on the man at a Grand Forks business on Monday afternoon tried to arrest 33-year-old Jordan Poitra on an outstanding Cass County warrant.

They say Poitra fought with officers and tried to disarm one of them. An unspecified number of officers were treated for minor injuries at a hospital.

Police say Poitra stole the patrol vehicle, fled the scene, and eventually veered across the I-29 median into oncoming traffic and crashed with the semi. The squad car was destroyed. The semi driver wasn’t hurt.

Police say Poitra’s address isn’t known.

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This story has been corrected to remove an erroneous earlier report from police that an officer’s gun holster was broken.

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