(Spirit Lake)– Authorities now say a Spirit Lake man accused of stealing a vehicle was involved in atleast three crashes with it.
Spirit Lake police say it all started around 7:15 a.m. Thursday when 26-year-old Wilfred Sophus was traveling west on Highways nine and 71 when he collided with the back end of a 2003 Chevrolet truck driven by 66-year-old Dean Hammer of Ida Grove. Authorities say Sophus then turned around and headed east on highways nine and 71 where he crossed the center line just west of Peoria Avenue colliding with a 1995 Mercury driven by 35-year-old Nissa Lundquist of Estherville. Sophus continued east on highways nine and 71 where he turned around at a gas station and the went west on the highway where he collided with the rear of a 1998 Ford Taurus just west of Peoria Avenue driven by 26-year-old George Regennitter of Spirit Lake.
Sophus was taken to Lakes Regional Healthcare where he was treated and released. No injuries were reported to any of the other drivers.
Sophus was booked into the Dickinson county jail on charges of second degree theft…a class “D” felony; three counts of reckless driving; operating while intoxicated; no driver’s license; failure to yield half of the roadway; two counts of following too close and no insurance.
Authorities say Sophus was driving a 1988 Buick allegedly stolen from an Okoboji business.
Five hundred dollars in damage was estimated to the vehicle driven by Hammer; the vehicle driven by Lundquist sustained an estimated three thousand dollars in damage; and damage to the vehicle driven by Regennitter was estimated at two-thousand dollars.
The Spirit Lake and Okoboji Police Departments continue their investigation into the incidents. The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office assisted on the scene with traffic control.
