MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office released evidence in a hit-and-run accident that severely injured an army recruiter.
Last fall, Staff Sgt. Travis Torgerson was hit by a jeep and dragged nearly a mile. The driver, Enrico Taylor, pleaded guilty to the charges and will spend nearly 16 years behind bars.
The case never went to trial, but newly released surveillance video and 911 calls show the panic of witnesses that day.
Video captured the typical customer traffic at the Kohl’s in Roseville in Sept. 2013. But when a dark-colored SUV drove through the parking lot, the calls for help began.
“I just witnessed somebody run a man over and I was in the parking lot and I heard him screaming,” said a 911 caller.
Witnesses saw Torgerson hanging underneath the SUV. Seconds earlier, he and fellow army recruiter Staff Sgt. Mike Stroud were hit on their way back to the army recruiting office.
“And the guy hit us, and I rolled off and over the front towards the sidewalk and my buddy got stuck underneath and the guy just kept driving off with my buddy,” said Stroud in a 911 call.
Rick Dusterhoft of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office says the driver, 53-year-old Enrico Taylor, has a long criminal history.
“That’s what he’s running from. He knows he’s in deep trouble and he was,” Dusterhoft said.
Pictures released from the attorney’s office show the nearly one-mile path left behind as Torgerson struggled to keep his body off the pavement.
“I want to believe that that’s his boot, but it might be blood,” said Dusterhoft, while looking at the evidence.
Police were on the scene within minutes, but by then, Taylor had ditched his vehicle. Officers found him a short time later and arrested him.
Taylor initially denied any involvement, but months later he had a change of heart and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to nearly 16 years behind bars.
Staff Sgt. Torgerson continues to recover. He’s had several surgeries, including skin grafts. He has not yet returned to work.
