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.
At the Minneapolis Convention Center, it’s horns honking, engines revving and car gurus gathering under one big roof.
The Twin Cities Auto Show began on Saturday. This year, it’s running earlier than normal.
“I like the old stuff, you know, the older vehicles. I love ’em,” said Mickey Strickler of Minneapolis.
The show welcomes everyone under the sun to “lookie-loo” or wander in with a purpose. Chris Leeman of Zimmerman is getting a look at possible future rides for his wife.
“We came here just to get kind of an all-around fit and feel of what she might like in the next year or two,” Leeman said. “The Toyota cars right now ain’t quite to the standard that I think I want my wife to be in.”
There’s more than 325 vehicles inside the convention center. Nobody is able to sell or haggle on the showroom floor.
“The show reflects the car business in a lot of ways,” said Scott Lambert, president of the Twin Cities Auto Show. “Electric vehicles are in a big reset right now.”
WCCO spoke to some attendees who gave their opinions of the automotive industry’s current state.
“I think it sucks,” Strickler said. “It’s not like it used to be. It’s hard to find good vehicles now.”
“I like the Mazda 90 because of the inline-six engine,” said Laun Aiken of Sauk Rapids. “I’m old school. I grew up driving inline-six vehicles, and so for them to reintroduce it into their line is kind of interesting.”
The show runs now through Jan. 11. Tickets can be purchased online. First responders get in for free.
A 17-year-old boy is dead after shots were fired into a Minneapolis home where he was on Sunday evening.
Police said officers responded to the shooting on the 2200 block of Ilion Avenue North around 6:26 p.m. They found the boy, who was suffering from an “apparent life-threatening gunshot wound.”
The officers provided him with medical aid before he was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a written statement that his agency will “devote every available resource to bring justice” for the boy and his family.
Investigators are working to learn the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to email Minneapolis police or leave a voicemail for them at 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Minnesota, or called in to them at 1-800-222-8477.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Sunday’s winter storm is making travel difficult and not advised across most of southern Minnesota.
Several Twin Cities communities have already declared snow emergencies as the metro is expected to get between four and seven inches of snow, depending on where you live.
Minneapolis Snow Emergency
What we know:
The City of Minneapolis declared a snow emergency Sunday, going into effect at 9 p.m. Sunday.
Residents must get their vehicles off city streets, or they’re at risk for getting towed. Here are the rules for this snow emergency:
- 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 to 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 29 (Day 1)Do not park on EITHER side of a Snow Emergency route until 8 a.m., or the street is fully plowed.
- 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29 (Day 2)Do not park on the EVEN numbered side of a non-Snow Emergency route until 8 p.m., or that side of the street is fully plowed, or on EITHER side of a parkway until 8 p.m., or the parkway is fully plowed.
- 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30 (Day 3)Do not park on the ODD numbered side of a non-Snow Emergency route until 8 p.m., or that side of the street is fully plowed.
Other snow emergencies
Timeline:
Here are other cities that have also declared snow emergencies. Check your city’s web site for what the parking rules are in the event of a snow emergency so plows can clear streets, and you won’t be fined and/or towed.
- Belle Plaine
- Bloomington
- Crystal
- Eden Prairie
- Elk River
- Montevideo
- New Hope
- Northfield
- Richfield
- Robbinsdale
- St. Louis Park
- St. James
- West St. Paul
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