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Innocent man killed by speeding driver

Police were dispatched just before midnight on reports from a woman that her boyfriend was fighting with her 14-year-old son and tried to stab him with a machete. She said that he had jumped in a van and was speeding up and down an alley just north of University Avenue at Victoria.
Those who knew LaShay Whittaker say he could light up a room with his sense of humor and electric personality. (Courtesy Facebook - The Whittaker family)

ST. PAUL, Minn. - An innocent motorist is dead after the vehicle he driving was struck by a man speeding down an alley in St. Paul late Friday.

Police were dispatched just before midnight on reports from a woman that her ex-boyfriend was fighting with her 14-year-old son at their apartment on the 800 block of Blair and tried to stab him with a machete. The 9-1-1 caller said that the suspect had jumped in a van and was speeding up and down an alley just north of University Avenue at Victoria.

Credit: KARE
Daylight revealed the damage caused by a high-speed collision that destroyed a garage and claimed the life of a motorist in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

A responding officer arrived on the scene and activated his lights but the 26-year-old suspect did not stop. He instead sped off, nearly hitting another officer and eventually crashing into a garage, then a vehicle on the 800 block of Sherburne Avenue. The vehicle that was struck by the fleeing man was hit so hard that it actually split in two. The victim was rushed to Regions Hospital but did not survive.

The suspect jumped out of his vehicle and fled on foot but was eventually caught and taken into custody. He suffered a broken sternum and collar bone, and was also taken to Regions. The suspect was treated and then booked into the Ramsey County Jail on probable cause criminal vehicular homicide. He may also face charges of terroristic threats in the machete incident.

Credit: KARE
The collision was so violent it literally cut the car of the victim in half. 

Authorities have not officially identified the victim but a cousin on the crash scene identified him as 41-year-old Lashay Whittaker of Mounds View. KARE 11's John Croman visited the Grooming House at 927 Selby where Whittaker has cut hair for 17 years. Customers are walking in for appointments with Whittaker not knowing about the tragedy.

Those John spoke to said Whittaker was a great guy with an excellent sense of humor who loved his children, and could light up a room with his personality. They say It doesn’t seem real, even though it is.

"You lose a good person, he was a friend to everybody, fun guy, just living his life normal and, and you lose him in such a tragic way," Dedrick Young, of Grooming House, told KARE.

"It’s very difficult to deal with. Every few phone calls today is someone calling for him, and his clients have no idea. They’re still coming in thinking they’re getting a haircut, and you've got to tell them."

At this point the identity of the suspect has not been released.

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