Video released of Robbinsdale police chase

A dramatic dash–cam video from Monday's police chase in Robbinsdale, shows how a driver wound up colliding with a school bus.
The suspect is 28–year old Argeni Fernandez of Columbia Heights. He was charged today with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, five counts of criminal vehicular operation, and DWI.
The chase lasted approximately three minutes, but in that brief time span, the driver caused minor injuries to five students when he rear-ended a school bus, plenty of damage and created havoc on some major Robbinsdale roadways.
"It's a pretty crazy one," said Robbinsdale Police Chief Jim Franzen. "This guy had total disregard for the public safety of anybody else. From the beginning when the officer first came up on him, pulling out into traffic, striking vehicles, driving across medians."
The dash–cam video shows a Robbinsdale police officer approaching a man on northbound Highway 100 Monday morning. The encounter was anything but routine.
The driver sped off quickly, veering into rush–hour traffic, clipping cars and cutting across the highway. He then went through the snow onto a frontage road.
"This person was definitely out of control," Franzen said. "Definitely a menace on the roadways. That's why the pursuit had to continue because it was a greater public safety threat to let him continue on."
The chase continued southbound on County Road 81. Eventually the the driver went west on 42nd Avenue in the wrong direction, before finally colliding with a school bus at 42nd and Quail Avenues.
In his wake, the suspect left a trail of destruction that even left Franzen amazed.
"Even at the point where he wasn't being pursued another witness still saw him driving erratically," Franzen said. "Taking trees out of the center median, taking down a road sign and driving head on into traffic."
A total of three officers were involved in the pursuit. Their job was to balance public safety while chasing an unpredictable driver at rush hour.
"I think they did a very good job of alerting the public to what was going on," Franzen said. "Keeping safe distances when they could and doing everything that they could to get the driver to pull over."
Eric Nelson reporting