MINNEAPOLIS _ The father of three children who were run over in a Minneapolis playground by an SUV driver fleeing two State Patrol squad cars is questioning the troopers' actions.
In the meantime, the most seriously injured of the kids from the June 11 crash near Jenny Lind Elementary School remains in critical condition Tuesday.
Kayden Peltier, 2, has yet to regain consciousness since the unlicensed driver of the full-sized SUV hit him and two of his six siblings who were all on the playground with their father while their mother was taking a test at St. Paul College.
The driver, 27-year-old Kabaar W. Powell, of Minneapolis, remains jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail on charges of criminal vehicular operation, fleeing police and having a gun in public without a permit.
"When I turned and saw the SUV and lights that followed, I pushed my 7-month-old out of the way," Kyle Peltier said in a brief interview Monday. "I turned to save Kayden and (daughter) Lillie, but I was too late. They had been hit already.
"I rushed to Kayden and was screaming, 'No! Kayden! Kayden!?'"
The father said the troopers gave him no explanation, but rather, "I was questioned on what I saw before my children were ran over by an SUV."
It was the second time in days that Powell had been pursued by troopers.
The charges against Powell revealed that a trooper pursued him on June 8 in roughly the same part of the city but gave up the chase after Powell ran four stop signs. On June 11, Powell ran 22 stop signs on residential streets in a pursuit that lasted about 6 minutes, at times topped 80 miles per hour and didn't end until the SUV hit the children.
A week later, Kyle Peltier said, "I still wonder why, why it was OK to end the pursuit on Friday after four stop signs were run, and not on Monday after 20-plus stop signs were run?"
Kayden has had surgery to remove his spleen, and suffered serious blood loss, fractures in his neck and pelvis, and bleeding in his skull. His injured siblings, 4-year-old Lillianna and 3-year-old Konnor, are back home.
The parents said they have hired an attorney and intend to sue the State Patrol. The Patrol has declined to address whether the troopers followed policy when they saw Powell speeding on Interstate 94 and decided to give chase off the highway onto city streets.
That policy lists numerous circumstances that require a pursuit to be discontinued, including "when there is a clear and unreasonable danger to the trooper, fleeing motorist or other persons."
County Attorney Mike Freeman has questioned the wisdom of the troopers' actions, saying: "Residential streets just aren't made for people driving 80 miles per hour. ... People's lives, like these kids' lives, are a lot more important than catching this guy, in my view."
A Wayzata couple who didn't know the Peltiers reached out to the family and were given permission to start an online fundraising effort for them. It has collected more than $13,000 in pledges so far.
