Hutchinson file shows sheriff repeatedly lied after 126 mph drunk-driving crash

(FOX 9) – Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson repeatedly lied and attempted to conceal key information after he drunkenly crashed his squad car at speeds of more than 120 miles an hour in December, newly released case files indicate.

The files indicate Hutchinson claimed that he wasn’t driving his county-owned vehicle, attempted to grab for his gun holster while talking with a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy, and delayed in providing a urine sample. The files also indicate that Hutchinson lied in previous TV interviews about his decision to get on the road.

At 1:19 a.m. Dec. 8, a man placed a call from Hutchinson’s cell phone to an Alexandria taxi driver to ask if any bars were still open, Alexandria Police said. The taxi driver said no. The call came from the Arrowwood Resort, where Hutchinson was staying at a Minnesota Sheriff’s Association conference.

Hutchinson then got on Interstate 94 in his county-owned 2021 Ford Explorer, reaching 126 miles an hour without wearing a seat belt, according to data retrieved from the vehicle. He didn’t make it far: five miles outside Alexandria, Hutchinson rolled the Explorer in the freeway median.

In TV interviews on Dec. 26, Hutchinson claimed he got on the road because he couldn’t sleep and did not mention a phone call about bars being open. He has declined follow-up interview requests.

First responders found Hutchinson lying in the snow in the freeway median. The sheriff required a deputy’s help to stand up, then stumbled and had to be helped into the backseat of a squad car, Douglas County video indicates.

Once in the squad car, Hutchinson repeatedly told deputies that someone else was driving the vehicle, the squad car video indicates.

“I wasn’t driving,” Hutchinson said through slurred speech. “Where are we right now?”

Once in the squad car, Hutchinson repeatedly told deputies that someone else was driving the vehicle, the squad car video indicates.

First responders found three firearms that Hutchinson had with him in the vehicle: a rifle, handgun and revolver. “The handgun was in a holster and Hutchinson was attempting to grab holster with his hand,” Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Kriese wrote in his report. Kriese said he took the gun away. The revolver was photographed lying in the snow outside the crashed Explorer.

An ambulance crew member found Hutchinson’s keys lying in a traffic lane. “I believe Hutchinson threw the keys out of his pocket so the keys would not be in his possession,” Kriese wrote.

The crash happened at 2:30 a.m. At 3:27 a.m., a Minnesota state trooper sought a search warrant for Hutchinson’s urine sample. A judge signed off at 3:36 a.m. At Alomere Hospital in Alexandria, Hutchinson initially asked for his attorney to be present before providing a urine sample, then said he did not have to urinate, Trooper Brian Beuning said in his report.

The urine sample was finally collected around 5:15 a.m.

Hutchinson has refused to allow body camera videos of the incident to be made public. In Minnesota, a subject must consent before the videos are released. Andy Skoogman, a spokesman for Hutchinson, has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Hutchinson, who is in his first term, has vowed not to resign and said he plans to run for reelection this fall.

Col. Matt Langer, the State Patrol’s chief, said he commended investigators on the case.

“There is no minimizing or defending the driving conduct and decisions involved in this situation,” Langer said in an emailed statement. “Hutchinson’s decision to drive impaired, at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour while not wearing a seat belt are the exact opposite of what we know helps to keep people safe on our roads.”