Stolen SUV Crash in Hopkins Leaves 3 Hospitalized, Driver Charged

May 9

A 29-year-old Minneapolis man is charged in connection with a high-speed crash in Hopkins that left two people hospitalized, including one with a traumatic brain injury.

Authorities say the suspect fled from police in a stolen SUV and ran a red light before colliding with another vehicle.

Joshua Maurice Mitchell is wanted on a warrant following the May 1, 2025 incident. He faces three felony charges: criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm, fleeing police resulting in great bodily harm and receiving stolen property.

FREE > Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter

According to the criminal complaint, Hopkins police were dispatched around 12:35 p.m. on May 1 to the area of Blake Road and Excelsior Boulevard after getting a report of a possible stolen gold Cadillac Escalade. Officers located the SUV in a nearby parking lot. When they attempted to stop it, the driver fled.

As officers activated their emergency lights and prepared to conduct a traffic stop, the Escalade sped away. Just moments later, the SUV ran a red light at the intersection of 5th Avenue South and Excelsior Boulevard and slammed into another vehicle. The impact caused both vehicles to start smoking.

READ MORE > Hopkins coverage

Police identified Mitchell as the driver of the stolen Escalade. A woman, identified in the complaint as a passenger, was in the vehicle with him. Both she and the driver of the other vehicle, a man who had been stopped at the intersection, sustained serious injuries.

Mitchell exited the SUV and was found crawling across the roadway with visible injuries. He was later diagnosed with a scalp laceration and a fractured right femur. The passenger told officers she believed her foot was broken. Doctors later diagnosed her with a fracture in her left ankle.

The man struck by the Escalade told police he had been stopped at the light preparing to turn left when the light changed to green. He was attempting to turn when the Escalade crashed into him. The collision left him with multiple broken ribs, a hematoma on his forehead and blood and air around his lungs, according to medical staff. He was also diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and remains hospitalized.

Police say the Escalade had been reported stolen days earlier, on April 28, from the 3900 block of Humboldt Avenue South in Minneapolis.

If convicted, Mitchell faces up to seven years in prison for the most serious of the charges.

> See more of our latest coverage