Bizarre slow speed chase in Minneapolis

It was not your typical police chase that took place Thursday morning in Minneapolis. It didn't involve high speeds, a stolen vehicle or a wanted criminal.

It started in downtown when, police say, a motorist ran a red light at a train track.

A police car, with siren on and lights flashing, tried to pull over the driver, but he kept on driving, in fact he drove right out of downtown and onto Interstate 35W south. Police continued to pursue the driver and finally got him to stop when they surrounded his car at 46th street.

Not knowing what they were facing, officers approached the vehicle with guns drawn. But police soon discovered a hard of hearing 79-year-old man behind the wheel.

Sargeant John Billington said he had other things to do on Thursday morning, but couldn't ignore the traffic violation especially over the railroad tracks. Billington said he never intended on ticketing the motorist until he continued to drive away from police.

Upon seeing an elderly man behind the wheel Billington said, "If you're 79 and can drive that's great but 79 and having issues, we've got to deal with that."

The way police deal with those issues is to refer the motorist to the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services Division for an evaluation.

Jody Oscarson supervises the Driver Evaluators and says unfortunately they're the ones that have to be the bad guys. But she says it's done in the name of safety.

Oscarson says sometimes they get in the middle of family squabbles over a relative's right to drive. "We'll have calls from the daughter saying my dad shouldn't be driving and we'll have a call from an out-of-state child saying well he should have his independence."

Many motorists in their 70s and 80s have never taken a drivers test but instead simply shelled out a quarter for their license. So when those so called at risk drivers are referred to the state, they must pass a test and often doctors must sign off on whether the driver's medical condition is such they can be behind the wheel.

Every year about 2,000 at risk drivers, most of them senior citizens, are referred to the state. While some have their licenses canceled, several hundred usually have some restrictions placed on their driving privileges. "If we feel they are capable of driving a short distance we can limit them to daylight driving or we will limit them to a five mile radius of town," says Oscarson.

As for the police officer who stopped the 79-year-old driver, he says he feels compassion for the man but says it doesn't matter how old the driver is, if they're not alert and paying attention, that's a problem.

By Bernie Grace, KARE 11 News

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