Sheriff: Suspect drove more than 100 mph during Blue Earth County chase that ended in fiery crash

A suspect is now in custody after he allegedly led law enforcement on a high-speed chase through Blue Earth County that ended with a fiery crash in Mankato.

The Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office said the pursuit stemmed from a Department of Corrections search warrant related to a 2021 methamphetamine case.

Authorities say they tried to box in Brandon Michael Hall, 43, at the intersection of County Road 11 and Highway 68 west of Mankato. As Hall drove away in a Ford Edge, he hit a drug task force agent’s squad car and evaded an attempt to disable his car with stop sticks near Minneopa State Park.

Hall drove east on Highway 68 and continued north on Highway 169, at times reaching speeds topping 100 mph, the sheriff’s office said. He hit a civilian’s Ford Fusion as he exited east onto Highway 14, sending the bystander’s car into an unoccupied Mankato Police Department squad parked on the side of the road.

The crash on Highway 14 left Hall’s car too damaged to continue, but he refused to leave as law enforcement used less-lethal rounds to draw him out, the sheriff’s office said. Hall only got out when the car began smoking.

Traffic cameras in the area captured a car in flames as authorities blocked off the surrounding highway near North Riverfront Drive.

The sheriff’s office alleged Hall carried a “large knife” as he made his way along the side of the road. Law enforcement used more less-lethal rounds and a Taser to subdue him before arresting him.

As of Wednesday, Hall was in custody at the Blue Earth County Jail on suspicion of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. He has not been formally charged in connection with this incident.

The driver of the Ford Focus, a 47-year-old Mankato man, was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital Tuesday night.

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