Rollover victim allegedly flees

Published 10:41 am Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Firefighters work to extract a driver from an overturned vehicle involved in a two-vehicle early Saturday morning crash Oakland Avenue West. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

The driver of a car that crashed on West Oakland Avenue this weekend turned himself in Monday after allegedly fleeing the scene Saturday.

The passenger, 34-year-old Amy Ellis of Waltham, had to be extracted from the vehicle by firefighters. She was taken to Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin by ambulance with a broken leg, according to Police Captain Dave McKichan.

Although accounts of the accident differ, McKichan said Michael Rutledge was reportedly driving the purple Monte Carlo from which Ellis was extracted. The vehicle was traveling west when it sped up behind a white Cadillac Seville and clipped it.

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The collision caused the Monte Carlo to flip and slide more than 100 feet, landing in the westbound lane near Holiday Ford.

However, witnesses told the Herald on Saturday that the Monte Carlo collided with the Seville when the Seville turned left from 25th Street SW onto Oakland.

Vannessa Dang, 23, was riding in the passenger seat of the white Seville. Dang said she didn’t see the Monte Carlo before they turned, though she remembers looking both ways.

“It just happened all so fast,” she said. “It’s the worst car accident I’ve ever been in.”

Dang’s boyfriend, Josh Wieseler, was driving, and Isaiah Wright, 24, was in the backseat. The three were on their way to fish.

Wieseler was given a breathalyzer after the crash and police determined he had no alcohol in his system.

The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the crash, according to McKichan.

— Jason Schoonover contributed to this report.