Chase suspect facing two murder charges
Published Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Photo by Photo Provided
Jeffrey Anderson
An Elbow Lake man who led police on a multi-county chase in March is facing attempted murder charges.
Jeffrey Allan Anderson, 49, 111 1st Street NE, Elbow Lake, has been charged in Otter Tail County District Court with two counts of attempted murder and one count of second degree assault for the March 9 incident that left a State Trooper s seriously injured and two squad cars destroyed. A Fergus Falls police officer was also injured in the incident.
Anderson is being held on $50,000 bond.
The incident began as a routine traffic stop for speeding on the afternoon of Sunday, March 9. It ended as a serious vehicle crash at the intersection of Pebble Lake Road and Highway 210 in Fergus Falls following a high-speed chase through Grant and Otter Tail counties.
The chase began near Elbow Lake in Grant County and proceeded into Otter Tail County. On Highway 59 by Big Chief near Fergus Falls, the suspect forced a Fergus Falls Police and an Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Department squad cars out of their lanes. Stop-sticks were placed near the intersection of Highway 59 and Highway 210 on the east side of Fergus Falls.
As Anderson’s vehicle approached the roadblock, it slammed head-on into a State Patrol squad car.
The criminal complaint filed against Anderson revealed more about the chase and the crash scene than originally released by law enforcement agencies in the days following the incident.
Trooper Vaughn Ebbighausen was outside his squad car when it was hit head-on at speeds exceeding 90 mph. The impact caused Ebbighausen’s squad to go airborne about 10 feet into the air, throwing the squad car about 30 feet from where it had been parked, court records state.
Ebbighausen was hit by his own vehicle after it was thrown as a result of the collision. He was thrown 15 feet as a result of the impact, reports state.
Ebbighausen told investigators that Anderson drove directly towards him at a high rate of speed and heard his vehicle accelerate. Ebbighausen stated that Anderson was apparently trying to run him over or hit his squad car. He told investigators that he was in fear for his life.
Ebbighausen suffered a laceration to his head and severe bruising to his body.
The van Anderson was driving landed on its roof. Anderson needed to be extricated from his vehicle. He was transported to Lake Region Hospital with serious injuries and later transferred to Innovis Hospital in Fargo.