Man Leads Local Officers on Chase With 1-Year-Old Child in Car

Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - It was a wild scene on I-90 between Stewartville and the Dexter area Friday.

Several law enforcement officers were involved in a high-speed chase of a man who took his 1-year-old son from the child’s mother from her Rochester home.

Police Lt. Mike Sadauskis says the child’s mother called 911 Friday evening to report the intoxicated man had assaulted her and then drove off with the child. The two had been living together in Texas before the woman recently moved to Rochester to get away from the man after he had become abusive to her. Sadauskis suspects the man intended to take the child back to Texas.

Olmsted County deputies spotted the man’s vehicle in Stewartville and the chase was on.

The man made his way to westbound I-90 and hit speeds as high as 90 mph. A Rochester officer and some Mower County deputies were also involved in the pursuit. Officers laid down stop sticks three times but the man drove around them and crossed the median and began driving the wrong way.

There was more concern about the incident when it was learned the man had made suicidal comments and may have a knife. A Mower County deputy with negotiating skills was able to talk to the man on his cell phone during the chase and he eventually stopped about an hour later and was arrested without incident.

Sadauskis says as the man was being taken to jail he suddenly became unresponsive. An ambulance was called and he was taken to St. Marys Hospital.  He was revived and later transferred to the Olmsted County jail.

The man - 31-year-old Pablo Rodriguez of Del Rio, Texas - is facing a long list of criminal charges.

Sadauskis says during the entire chase the child was unrestrained in the front seat. He was not hurt.

News update: Downtown Rochester hotel worker dies in fall from roof.