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Shirley Bilden

Age : 80

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 07/14/2021

Location : Geneva Avenue and 10th Street

City : Maplewood

County : Washington

State : Minnesota

Agency : Maplewood Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on 07/10/2021, Oakdale police received information that a Chevrolet Tahoe parked outside Cub Foods on 10th Street North had been reported stolen. Officers identified Scott David Hardy in the driver’s seat, approached the Tahoe and ordered him to turn off the engine and put his hands outside the window. Hardy instead drove away, and Oakdale officers pursued.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/10/2021, 80-year-old Shirley J. Bilden of Maplewood was critically injured when the stolen Chevrolet Tahoe Oakdale police had been pursuing crashed into her Chevrolet Malibu at Geneva Avenue and 10th Street. Bilden had no connection to Hardy, the stolen Tahoe or the police encounter. She remained hospitalized for four days and died at Regions Hospital on 07/14/2021.
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The police encounter began at the Cub Foods on 10th Street North. Officers had originally been dispatched to the store concerning an unrelated panhandler. After arriving, police were alerted to the stolen Tahoe in the parking lot and approached Hardy. Officers ordered him to shut off the vehicle and show his hands. Hardy drove out of the parking lot with a man and a woman riding with him.
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Hardy accelerated into nearby residential neighborhoods while Oakdale officers pursued. According to the criminal complaint, he reached speeds approaching 70 mph and drove through residential yards. Oakdale police terminated the pursuit because of the danger Hardy’s driving presented in the neighborhood.
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Shortly after officers discontinued the pursuit, they saw a large plume of smoke in the distance. Hardy had continued approximately 1¼ miles from the Cub Foods and entered the intersection of Geneva Avenue and 10th Street against a red traffic signal, crashing the Tahoe into Bilden’s Chevrolet Malibu. Both vehicles were severely damaged.
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Bilden suffered extensive traumatic injuries, including fractures involving her back, shoulder, vertebrae and ankle, and had difficulty breathing following the collision. Emergency personnel transported her to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
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Hardy left the wrecked Tahoe and ran to nearby Union Cemetery. There, while a woman and her children were visiting a gravesite, he attempted to take her vehicle. People at the cemetery restrained Hardy until police arrived and arrested him. The two passengers who had been riding in the Tahoe were hospitalized with injuries from the collision.
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Shirley remained at Regions Hospital until 07/14/2021, when she died from the injuries caused by the crash.
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Shirley grew up on a farm in Rothsay, Minnesota. She later moved to St. Paul, where she raised her family, and worked for Burlington Northern Railroad. She lived for many years in Oakdale before settling in Maplewood.
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Her family remembered her especially for the attention she gave to the people she loved. Regular telephone calls and greeting cards for birthdays, holidays and other occasions were characteristic ways Shirley stayed connected with relatives and friends. She was survived by grandchildren, great-grandchildren, four siblings, nieces, nephews and close friends. Three of her children—Rodney, Daniel and Laurie—had died before her.
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Shirley was buried at Union Cemetery—the same cemetery where Hardy had run immediately after the crash and attempted to take another vehicle. Her son Daniel was also buried there.
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Hardy was charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle resulting in death, receiving stolen property and attempted motor-vehicle theft. Court records also showed that his driver’s license had been revoked when he drove the stolen Tahoe.
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In February 2024, Hardy pleaded guilty to fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle resulting in death. The receiving-stolen-property and attempted-motor-vehicle-theft charges were dismissed under the plea agreement.
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On 04/12/2024, a Washington County judge sentenced Hardy to 166 months—13 years and 10 months—in prison, with credit for two years and 273 days already served.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Oakdale Police Department officers who approached Hardy at Cub Foods and participated in the pursuit have not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/scott-hardy-sentenced-shirley-bilden-maplewood-police-chase-crash/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wadena-man-gets-14-years-223500574.html
https://www.startribune.com/man-charged-after-woman-dies-of-oakdale-crash-injuries/600078486
https://www.startribune.com/13-year-sentence-for-man-who-fatally-hit-other-driver-while-fleeing-police-in-oakdale/600359209
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/man-sentenced-to-over-13-years-in-prison-for-fatal-oakdale-crash/
https://www.fox9.com/news/driver-sentenced-fatal-oakdale-crash-following-pursuit
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/man-sentenced-to-over-13-years-for-oakdale-crash-that-killed-80-year-old-woman
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/woman-struck-by-fleeing-suspect-in-maplewood-dies-from-injuries
https://obituaries.startribune.com/obituary/shirley-bilden-1090158374/