RIVER FALLS – A Minnesota man is accused of taking his ex-girlfriend’s car and crashing it into another occupied vehicle during an argument in River Falls.

Bradley Theodore Strand, 28, Mounds View, Minn., was ordered to pay $1,000 cash bond Feb. 23 in Pierce County Circuit Court on felony take and drive vehicle without consent, misdemeanor bail jumping, disorderly conduct (domestic abuse), violate foreign protection order (domestic abuse) and cause injury/OWI charges. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of six years in prison and/or fines up to $10,000.

According to the complaint:

At 11:31 p.m. Feb. 21, River Falls police took multiple 911 calls about a two-vehicle crash on Kennedy Street near Wells Park. One of the vehicles was allegedly stolen and the suspect had fled on foot.

When police arrived, they found a Ford Escape and Chevy Volt in the roadway with the airbags deployed. Nobody was inside the vehicles, but police learned two people had been in each.

The first victim, a female, told police she had exited her apartment building intending to drive to her mother’s house in her mother’s vehicle. Her ex-boyfriend, identified as Strand, was in the parking lot. She said he had forced his way into her vehicle despite her objections. She said a no contact order exists between them through Washington County (Minn.) and Pierce County courts.

While she was driving, he sat in the passenger seat demanding they discuss their relationship, pressuring her to drop criminal charges against him. She said she drove in a loop toward Highway 65 and back to Main Street, then to the intersection where the crash had taken place. Because Strand had become aggressive, and started punching the car radio, she put the vehicle in park, exited it and took her key fob with her. She began yelling for help as Strand slid into the driver’s seat and drove off. She heard the crash behind her as she was walking down the street. The two occupants in the vehicle Strand struck confirmed he had been driving at the time of the crash.

Officers could smell alcohol on the victim’s breath; she performed field sobriety tests and police did not have probable cause for an OWI arrest. EMS tended to the occupants of the other vehicle, who had minor injuries.

Police located Strand at 2:28 a.m. at Kwik Trip (1536 Cemetery Road) when an employee called him in. He was sitting at the counter and had bloodshot, glossy eyes. He smelled of alcohol and blood stained his sweatshirt. “I’m pretty beat up right now,” he said.

After being read his Miranda rights, he told officers he’d been in a car accident and had a possible head injury. After refusing to do field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer, police transported him to River Falls Area Hospital for an evaluation. They also obtained a blood test for his alcohol level before transporting him to Pierce County Jail.

Strand’s next court appearance is a preliminary hearing at 11:30 a.m. April 8.