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Randy Cole

Age : 31

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 05/19/2021

Location : I-29

City : Hillsboro

County : Traill

State : North Dakota

Agency : Grand Forks County Sheriff's Office, Traill County Sheriff's Office, North Dakota Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE: Stolen vehicle
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NARRATIVE:
On 05/19/2021 at approximately 11:07 a.m., Randy Cole, 31, was driving a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix south on Interstate 29 between Thompson and Reynolds. The vehicle had been reported stolen from the Valley Dairy at 1220 University Avenue in Grand Forks approximately 15 minutes earlier. Grand Forks County sheriff’s deputies located the Pontiac near mile marker 125 and attempted a traffic stop. Police alleged Cole continued south, beginning a high-speed pursuit.
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Three Grand Forks County deputies pursued Cole south on I-29 for approximately 25 miles. Speeds exceeded 100 mph for roughly the first 20 miles. Near Hillsboro, Traill County sheriff’s deputies deployed spike strips that deflated both front tires of the Pontiac. Cole continued approximately another five miles on the damaged front wheels.
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Cole's passenger was 24-year-old Elena Fladeland. Dash-camera video subsequently released by Grand Forks County Sheriff Andy Schneider showed Fladeland opening the passenger door and partially emerging from the moving car twice after the tires were deflated. At one point she remained partially outside the car for approximately 15 seconds. Deputies later said this raised concern that she might be trying to escape or being held against her will and was one reason they continued the pursuit. Grand Forks police later determined Fladeland had not been in the Pontiac when it was initially stolen and authorities did not establish publicly when she entered the vehicle.
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The pursuit continued into an I-29 construction zone south of Hillsboro where northbound and southbound traffic had been compressed into the southbound lanes, creating head-to-head traffic separated by construction markers. Despite the disabled front tires, the Pontiac was traveling approximately 70 mph as it entered the construction zone, where the posted speed limit was 65 mph.
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Near mile marker 98, approximately one minute after Fladeland was last seen opening the passenger door, the Pontiac crossed the center separation and struck a northbound 2017 Kenworth tractor-trailer head-on. The North Dakota Highway Patrol investigated whether Cole lost control because of the damaged tires or deliberately crossed into the truck's path but had not reached a conclusion when the later dash-camera footage was released.
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Cole was pronounced dead at the scene. Fladeland survived and was transported to Sanford Hospital in Fargo with serious injuries; later reporting said she remained in recovery. The semi driver, 24-year-old Amirtpal Singh of Winnipeg, Manitoba, suffered minor injuries, was transported to Sanford Hillsboro Medical Center, treated and released.
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The Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office faced questions about why deputies continued the pursuit after the Pontiac's tires had been disabled and as it approached the head-to-head construction zone. Captain Joel Lloyd said immediately after the crash that the three pursuing deputies appeared to have acted within department policy but that the sheriff's office would conduct an internal review. All three deputies returned to patrol following the crash. Sheriff Andy Schneider subsequently released dash-camera footage of the pursuit in June 2021, defending the decision to continue and pointing particularly to Fladeland's apparent attempts to get out of the moving Pontiac.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office did not publicly identify the three deputies who pursued Cole. Because their names could not be reliably established from public records, individual prior-incident histories cannot be attributed to them. Captain Joel Lloyd publicly defended their conduct shortly after the crash, and Sheriff Andy Schneider later released pursuit video defending the decision to continue the chase. No reliable public record located documents criminal charges against the deputies arising from Cole's death.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://knoxradio.com/2021/05/19/1-dead-after-police-pursuit-in-gf-traill-counties/
https://www.nd.gov/ndhp/sites/www/files/documents/News/2021%20Media%20Release/May%202021%20Media%20Release/2021.5.20.TraillCounty.I-29.Fatal%20Crash.UPDATE.pdf
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/names-released-in-fatal-i-29-crash-pursuit-near-hillsboro
https://www.inforum.com/news/grand-forks-sheriffs-office-defends-chase-that-ended-with-deadly-crash-in-construction-zone
https://www.thedickinsonpress.com/news/grand-forks-county-sheriff-releases-dashcam-video-of-deadly-i-29-chase
https://www.valleynewslive.com/2021/05/19/traffic-backed-up-after-crash-on-i-29/
https://www.kvrr.com/2021/05/20/driver-who-died-in-pursuit-in-traill-county-identified/
https://kfgo.com/2021/05/21/north-dakota-highway-patrol-identifies-those-involved-in-fatal-high-speed-crash-on-i-29/