On April 13, 2026, a trooper of the Minnesota State Patrol was driving on Interstate 35 West on the 94th Street Ramp, in the County of Dakota, Minnesota, when he observed a vehicle travelling visually fast and the trooper determined that their speed was 86 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone. The trooper noted that the vehicle was weaving over lane lines and increasing speed to 96 miles per hour. The trooper activated their emergency lights to perform a traffic stop and the vehicle did not slow down.
The vehicle then made a quick maneuver to the right lane and began to accelerate rapidly away from the squad car. The vehicle then left the highway and cut across and continued to not maintain their lane until they crashed down a ramp into a ditch. The vehicle then reentered the roadway and the trooper attempted a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) and made contact with the suspect vehicle which did not stop the vehicle. The vehicle entered a construction zone with no workers present and continued speeding, as well as running a red light.
The trooper noted that the vehicle had reached an approximate speed of 100 miles per hour and nearly struck another vehicle. An additional squad vehicle joined the pursuit and whenever the squad vehicle would attempt to get alongside or pass the suspect vehicle, the suspect vehicle would steer at the squad vehicle and cut them off. Stop sticks were successfully deployed and the driver continued driving despite the front passenger tire going flat and eventually falling off the vehicle. The trooper utilized an additional PIT maneuver which succeeded in turning the suspect vehicle in front of the trooper’s squad car.
The suspect vehicle attempted to still drive away when the trooper pushed the vehicle sideways into a ditch and pinned the vehicle against a cable barrier. Additional squad vehicles then pinned the suspect vehicle. The driver was removed from the vehicle and identified as Alex De Jesus-Zuniga, born August 20, 1995. The trooper noted that Jesus-Zuniga had heavily slurred speech, an overwhelming odor of consumed alcoholic beverage, bloodshot and water eyes, was stumbling, and had slow motor movements.
The trooper completed a preliminary breath test which registered a.141 blood alcohol content. The trooper applied for and received a search warrant for a fluid sample and collected a sample of Jesus- Zuniga’s blood. This sample was sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing.
