DULUTH, Minn. - A St. Louis County Sheriff's Office K-9 helped track down a drunken driving suspect who began showing signs of hypothermia after fleeing on foot into a wooded area of the Duluth Heights neighborhood early Tuesday, authorities said.
Duluth police Sgt. Mike Erickson began following a vehicle that was driving erratically near Central Entrance and Arlington Avenue just before 1 a.m., according to a criminal complaint. After following the driver in a circle around some residential streets, Erickson initiated a traffic stop.
The driver, later identified as 37-year-old Leonard Lawrence Welsh III, fled in his vehicle after the officer exited his squad and began approaching the car, police said.
Erickson radioed for backup and continued the pursuit, finding the vehicle crashed into a snowbank at Orange Street and Oregon Avenue, according to the complaint. Unsure if the driver was still in the car, Erickson waited for other officers to arrive.
Sheriff's Sgt. Brandon Silgjord and K-9 partner Kilo were dispatched to the scene, and tracked the suspect a half-mile into the nearby woods, where he surrendered without incident.
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Duluth police said Welsh was only in the woods for approximately 10 minutes, but he had to be taken to a local hospital for medical care related to possible hypothermia or frostbite.
Welsh "surrendered without incident, and then asked Sgt. Silgjord to help him find his hands because they were so cold," the Northland K9 Foundation reported in a Facebook post. "The suspect is now warming up in jail, accused of felony fleeing police and DWI."
Welsh was formally charged Wednesday with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, second-degree DWI and second-degree test refusal. He has three prior drunken driving convictions in Wisconsin, dating back to 2003.
