Minneapolis, MN
Motorcyclist’s bag stolen after being injured in downtown Minneapolis hit-and-run
MINNEAPOLIS — Surveillance video shows a man on a motorcycle being tossed through the air earlier this month during a high-speed hit-and-run.
Carl Vargas was riding through downtown Minneapolis when a car blew through a red light, T-boning his motorcycle.
Miraculously, Vargas is alive and is expected to recover.
“By the grace of God, he survived due to the helmet,” said Andy Meissner, Vargas’s brother.
Vargas’s family has spent hours canvassing the area to obtain video of the crash. It also shows what happened next.
Two people get out of the crashed car and immediately get into a second vehicle that had been trailing directly behind them.
“It’s believed that the car was stolen and that another car was tailing them,” said Victoria Nichols, Vargas’s aunt.
They drove off, abandoning the first car, and now his family says Vargas is in the hospital with skull fractures, broken bones and brain bleeding.
“Every day I go in and visit, I’m just reminding him how the physical recovery is only part of the battle and that the mental side is the rest of it, and that’s where he excels the most,” Meissner said.
Vargas wasn’t just the victim of a hit-and-run. While he was lying on the sidewalk, severely injured, someone on the street walked up and stole his bag.
Nichols says Vargas had everything in the bag, including his ID, credit cards and phone.
Vargas’s family hopes someone who witnessed the crash can help, particularly one person seen in the surveillance video who looks to be recording everything, including the getaway car’s license plate.
“We’re just motivated to…figure out who did this to him to hold someone accountable,” Nichols said.
Minneapolis police say they’re investigating, but no one’s been arrested.
“Hopefully we can get some exposure on this in a way that leads to justice for Carl,” Meissner said.
The scene of the crash at 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced for her role in a deadly crash that killed two women and injured two other people in December 2024.
READ MORE: Minneapolis woman charged in fatal high-speed crash faces additional charges
Woman sentenced in fatal Minneapolis crash
Big picture view:
Prosecutors say Teniki Steward drove a Buick Enclave into a bus shelter and a Ford Explorer after speeding through a red light.
Both of the women in the Ford Explorer died in the crash. They were identified as 53-year-old Ester Jean Fulks and 57-year-old Rose Elaine Reece.
During the crash, the Ford Explorer went off the road, injuring a 17-year-old boy who was waiting for a school bus.
The passenger in Steward’s vehicle also suffered injuries.
Minneapolis police said that Steward was also injured in the crash.
Steward pleaded guilty to multiple murder charges.
What they’re saying:
During the sentencing, the daughter of one of the victims had a statement read on her behalf:
“There’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the moment your entire world is taken from you. Losing my mom has left a pain in my heart that words will never be able to explain.”
What’s next:
Minnesota law requires that Steward serves at least two-thirds of her sentence, a bit under eight-and-a-half years, in prison.
Fatal Emerson and 26th crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, through surveillance videos from the scene of the crash and witnesses, investigators learned that Steward, driving the Buick Enclave, had been driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Emerson Avenue North.
Before the fatal crash, Steward sped through the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, running a red light and nearly causing a crash, the charges said.
Steward then continued to speed northbound down Emerson Avenue North, and ran another red light at 26th Avenue North, hitting the Ford Explorer, which was traveling eastbound, according to the complaint.
The Ford Explorer had been at the intersection of Emerson and 26th on a green light.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared the following statement:
“This was an egregious act that took Rose and Esther’s lives and injured a child waiting to go to school at a bus stop. Ms. Steward was driving at extremely dangerous speeds on city streets and narrowly avoided multiple collisions before the incident occurred. Third-degree murder charges are appropriate to hold her accountable and protect our community.”
The Source: This story uses information gathered from an Olmsted County court appearance and previous FOX 9 reporting.
A motorcyclist is dead after an early morning crash in Minneapolis Friday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that at 1:20 a.m., a Suzuki Motorcycle going north on I-35W at Johnson Street hit the left side of the median guard rail.
The motorcycle continued north for about another quarter mile before coming to a rest on the right-hand side.
State Patrol said the rider came to rest on the left shoulder. He was later identified as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Spartans boys volleyball team played its second game on consecutive nights. The Spartans beat Minneapolis Camden 3-0.
Rochester’s next game will be Tuesday, April 21, at St. Anthony Village at 7:00 p.m.
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