UPDATE: Suspect apprehended after high-speed chase on Highway 61

• Chase slows traffic

A police chase Thursday afternoon slowed rush-hour traffic on southbound Highway 61 north of the Hastings Bridge. Bulletin photo by Scott Wente

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A Hastings man was apprehended by Cottage Grove police Thursday afternoon following a high-speed chase that slowed rush hour traffic on Highway 61 north of the Hastings Bridge.

Cottage Grove police said officers tried to make a traffic stop near 100th Street and Innovation around 4 p.m., but the driver, Dennis M. Dick, allegedly fled and led police southbound on Highway 61 toward Hastings at speeds of up to 70 mph, officers reported.

The attempted traffic stop was related to a felony weapons warrant in Dakota County, police said. Officers reported seeing a vehicle occupant throw an object out the window during the chase and police were seen searching tall grass in the highway median a short time later.

Officers brought the fleeing suspect to a stop south of Highway 10 using a Pursuit Intervention Technique — or PIT — maneuver. Dick was subdued with the use of pepper spray, a Taser and a Hastings Police Department K-9 dog before being taken into custody, police said.

Traffic on southbound Highway 61 was backed up from the Hastings Bridge to the Highway 10 during the incident.

Dick — who was transported to Regions Hospital with dog bite wounds — will face charges of fleeing peace officers, a felony, and obstructing the legal process with force, in addition to the existing weapons charge, police said Thursday.

Check back for updates.

Tags: crime and courts, news, updates, crime