Intoxicated 18-year-old intentionally runs over man outside Target, Minnesota cops say

A 29-year-old man was hospitalized after a driver intentionally struck him outside a Target store in Minnesota, police say.

The St. Cloud Police Department said the 18-year-old driver of the Sunday, Feb. 26, incident was determined to be intoxicated.

Around 4:30 p.m., the driver of a Volkswagen Passat hit two occupied vehicles in the Target parking lot, police said. None of the occupants were injured.

He then “appeared to swerve toward and intentionally strike the 29-year-old pedestrian as he was walking in the parking lot,” St. Cloud police said in a news release.

Officers found the victim lying on the pavement. He was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in serious condition with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

The driver was spotted by officers “driving at a high rate of speed” in the parking lot, police said, and he was pulled over after a brief pursuit.

He was taken into custody and appeared to be intoxicated, according to the news release.

Police did not say why the 18-year-old struck the pedestrian, but said impairment was the reason for his erratic driving.

He was charged with second-degree assault with a vehicle, criminal vehicular operation, hit and run, driving while intoxicated and fleeing in a motor vehicle, police said.

St. Cloud is about 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 6:13 AM with the headline "Intoxicated 18-year-old intentionally runs over man outside Target, Minnesota cops say."