13-Year-Old Minnesota Girl Crashes Stolen Minivan After Wild Police Chase

ITASCA COUNTY, MN — A 13-year-old girl who stole a minivan and led deputies on a high-speed chase through northern Minnesota with no headlights died early Sunday after crashing into a tree, according to authorities.

The girl, identified as Angelica Bryan, of Cass Lake, was the only person inside the stolen 2003 Honda Odyssey, which had been taken from a home in Cohasset just hours earlier, officials said.

Around 1:30 a.m. on April 20, an Itasca County Sheriff’s deputy tried to stop the van for driving without headlights near the intersection of County Road 63 and County Road 271.

Instead of pulling over, Bryan sped away, reaching speeds estimated at over 90 mph, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

During the chase, the Minnesota State Patrol attempted to use a tire-deflation device, but it failed to make contact with the van's tires. Bryan continued fleeing in the dark on Highway 6 before veering off the road just east of County Road 11, where the van slammed into a tree and came to a stop.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured, and no squad cars made physical contact with the van during the pursuit, investigators said.

The BCA is handling the investigation at the request of the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office to avoid a conflict of interest. The crash remains under investigation.