A Clearwater man drove away from a Wright County deputy during a traffic stop and then ran toward Interstate 94 before the deputy caught him, according to a criminal complaint.
Kyle Daniel Winter, 41, is charged in Wright County District Court with felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, two gross misdemeanor counts of driving while impaired, misdemeanor fleeing on foot and misdemeanor obstructing legal process. The complaint was filed October 30.
According to the complaint, a deputy responded at about 11:37 p.m. on October 29 to a report that an intoxicated man had left the VFW in Monticello in a Dodge Ram pickup and nearly struck several vehicles on the way out. The deputy followed the pickup through Clearwater and into Stearns County. When it cut a corner onto 200th Street and drove onto the gravel shoulder, the deputy pulled it over.
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When the deputy shined his spotlight on the pickup’s side mirror, the driver drove off, turned sharply off the road and headed toward the squad car to get back to the roadway, the complaint says. The deputy pulled in front of the pickup and pushed his squad car against it at slow speed to end the pursuit. The pickup stopped, reversed and stopped again.
Winter then got out and ran toward Interstate 94, the complaint says. The deputy chased him on foot for about 70 yards and took him to the ground. Winter tucked his hands under his body and resisted until a third deputy arrived to help handcuff him.
Deputies found a half-empty 1.75-liter bottle of rum in the back seat and a cup that smelled of rum in a front cupholder, according to the complaint. A breath test at the Wright County Jail in Buffalo at 1:59 a.m. showed an alcohol concentration of 0.21, more than twice the legal limit.
The deputy’s squad car had damage to its hood and push bumper. The complaint says the DWI counts are enhanced by the high alcohol concentration and a prior impaired driving conviction.
