A North Dakota man was killed after he stole a police cruiser and crashed it head-on into a semitrailer. Police responded to a call to check on the welfare of a man outside of a Dollar Tree in Grand Forks and encountered 33-year-old Jordan Lee Poitra.
They learned that Poitra had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear in court and attempted to detain him. Poitra fought back and tried to disarm one of the deputies. The officers used tasers but they did not stop him. During the fight, Poitra was able to get into one of the squad cars and fled the scene at a high rate of speed.
Poitra sped through the streets before crashing through a fence and onto Interstate 29. He attempted to cross the median and struck a semitrailer head-on. The semitrailer suffered significant damage in the crash, but the driver was not hurt. The police cruiser was obliterated, and Poitra was declared dead at the scene.
The officers involved in the fight suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital to receive treatment.