Man sentenced to over 13 years in prison for fatal Oakdale crash

A man responsible for killing an 80-year-old woman while fleeing police in a stolen vehicle in Oakdale in 2021 has been sentenced to over 13 years in prison.

During a hearing on Friday, 36-year-old Scott David Hardy was sentenced to 166 months in prison with two years and 273 days credit for time served.

Hardy pleaded guilty in February and as part of the plea deal, he was convicted of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle resulting in death, while two lesser charges of receiving stolen property and attempted theft of a motor vehicle were dismissed.

The criminal complaint states that police received a call of a stolen Chevy Tahoe that was parked outside of Cub Foods in Oakdale just after 4 p.m. on July 10, 2021. When officers arrived, they identified the driver as Hardy and told him to turn off the car and put his hands out the window.

Authorities say that Hardy then fled from police, driving through neighborhoods at speeds upwards of 70 m.p.h. Police called off the pursuit, however shortly after they saw a large plume of smoke in the distance.

Officers responded to the area and determined Hardy ran a red light at Geneva Avenue and 10th Street, hitting 80-year-old Shirley Bilden’s Chevy Malibu and leaving both cars severely damaged.

Witnesses said that Hardy left the scene after the crash.

Bilden, along with two people in the stolen car who also sustained injuries, were brought to the hospital, where Bilden died four days later.

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Court records state that Hardy was found a short time after the crash at a nearby cemetery after he tried to steal a woman’s car. He was restrained by citizens until police arrived.

Hardy remains in custody at the Washington County Jail and is awaiting transfer to the Minnesota Department of Corrections.