St. Cloud crash leaves 2 dead after suspect flees police, gun recovered

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two people are dead after a man accused of fleeing police T-boned their vehicle in St. Cloud after an officer tried to pull him over for speeding. 

The suspect, identified only as a 26-year-old man from Sauk Rapids, was taken to the hospital in critical condition after the crash. 

St. Cloud fatal crash 

What we know:

The St. Cloud Police Department said an officer saw a speeding truck without any headlights on around 11:46 p.m. 

The officer then pulled the truck over near the 1100 block of 8th Avenue North. Police say when the officer stepped out to approach the truck, the driver threw something out of the passenger-side window and sped away. 

The suspect's truck was out of sight by the time the officer got back to his squad, so no pursuit was initiated, and police say they couldn't locate the truck. 

After returning to the scene of the initial traffic stop, the officer recovered the discarded item, which was a firearm. As the officer worked to secure the weapon, emergency dispatch relayed information of a nearby crash.in the 1300 block of 10th Avenue North.

The driver of a truck was traveling at a high rate of speed and T-boned another vehicle, killing the two people inside. The driver was reportedly in the same truck that had fled the earlier traffic stop, according to police.

The driver in the passenger car was identified as a 59-year-old man from St. Cloud while the passenger was identified as a 45-year-old man from St. Cloud.

The suspect, identified only as a 26-year-old man from Sauk Rapids, was taken to the hospital in critical condition after the crash. 

What we don't know:

Officials have not yet released information on criminal charges against the 26-year-old Sauk Rapids man or his identity. 

Law enforcement officials did not release the identity of the victims who died in the crash.