Crime & Safety

SLP Woman Charged with Fleeing Police

Anna Elizabeth Nyenhuis is accused of fleeing police in Minnetonka after she was stopped for an expired vehicle registration.

A St. Louis Park woman has been charged with fleeing a police officer after police say she led authorities on a high-speed chase in Minnetonka last week.

Anna Elizabeth Nyenhuis, 38, is charged with felony fleeing, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. She is also charged with second-degree DWI, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, a Minnetonka police officer on patrol pulled up behind Nyenhuis’ car on Jan. 2 and noticed that the car’s registration had expired. The officer activated the squad car’s lights, and Nyenhuis pulled into a nearby parking lot.

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The officer told Nyenhuis why he had stopped her and asked for her driver’s license and car registration. She told him she didn’t have them, but said the car was insured, according to the complaint.

The officer told Nyenhuis to stay in her car, but as he began walking back toward his squad car, she sped away with her 9-year-old daughter in the car with her. The officer began pursuing her through a residential area at speeds approaching 65 mph, the complaint says.

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During the pursuit, Nyenhuis’ car veered into the oncoming lane of traffic, forcing a number of vehicles onto the shoulder to avoid head-on collisions, according to the complaint. She finally stopped more than a mile from the initial stop.

As the officer put Nyenhuis into the squad car, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol on her breath, the complaint says. Tests showed a blood-alcohol content of .144.

Nyenhuis, whose criminal record includes a 2009 conviction for DWI, was released Tuesday on a $20,000 bond.


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