Man charged after video shows vehicle drag and hit person on I-494

A St. Paul man is facing charges after a hit-and-run on Interstate 494 in Minnetonka was captured on video last month.

Jamen Michael Neises, 29, is charged with second-degree assault and fleeing police in connection to the incident, which was caught by Minnesota Department of Transportation cameras.

At around 2 a.m. on Feb. 10, Minnetonka police were called to a report of an injured person on the shoulder of I-494 near Baker Road. There, they found a man who had cuts to his head and “disfigurements” to his right leg, court documents state. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Video from the traffic cameras shows a white Kia stop in the right lane of the road for about 10 seconds and a person is seen getting apparently pushed out of the driver’s side. The Kia then takes off, swerving into the middle lane while the person is apparently dragged for about five seconds before he’s seen lying in the middle of the road.

At that point, the Kia turns around to go the wrong way on the highway and drives right at the person, apparently hitting the victim, as a different vehicle passes by on the shoulder. The Kia then turns around again to face the correct way on the highway and drives off.

A criminal complaint states that Neises called dispatchers during the incident and made erratic and threatening statements. Officers later tracked him down at a gas station near County Road 101 and Townline Road and pursued the vehicle as it sped off, going 45-60 mph in a 30 mph zone.

After the Kia ran a stop sign and red light, Eden Prairie police were able to use a pursuit intervention technique to stop it.

When officers then went to take Neises into custody, he continued making threatening statements, including telling the officer to give him his gun so he could track people down, saying “I already got one of them, I have to get the other one,” the complaint adds.

The victim’s spouse told officers that interactions with Neises started through an app around four years ago but a financial dispute in the past two years caused issues and Neises allegedly started using meth. Court documents also add that Neises previously assaulted the victim and made threatening statements that made the victim and his spouse believe Neises wanted to kill them.

Neises is scheduled to make his next court appearance next week and is facing up to seven years in prison for assault and three years for fleeing police.