2-Year-Old Dies In Hit-And-Run In Itasca County

A two-year-old boy has died after he was hit in a hit-and-run around 15 miles north of Nashwauk in Itasca County on Thursday, August 1.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, around 1:17 p.m. Thursday, 2-year-old Logan Klennert was being pushed in a stroller by 16-year-old Alexia Carroll south along Highway 65 in Itasca Township when they were hit from behind by a pickup truck. The truck, a 1999 Dodge Ram, was traveling south on Highway 65 and had crossed onto the shoulder, hitting the two pedestrians. The driver of the truck left the scene.

The 2-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and Carroll was transported to a Duluth hospital with non-life-threatening, but significant, injuries.

Pilots and employees from Wilson Construction Helicopter Service were in the area and spotted the pickup truck, informed law enforcement, and followed the driver until he could be arrested.

The driver, 38-year-old Jake Michael Place of Nashwauk, was booked into the Itasca County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide – hit and run, criminal vehicular operation – great bodily harm, and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

The Minnesota State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Nashwauk Police Department, the Keewatin Police Department, Nashwauk Ambulance, Nashwauk Fire, North Memorial Air Care, and Life Link III.