Man pleads guilty in chase that ended in playground crash

Minnesota State Patrol investigates the scene.
Minnesota State Patrol investigates the scene where a motorist being pursued by the State Patrol veered into a Minneapolis school playground Monday, June 11, 2018.
Elizabeth Flores | Star Tribune via AP File

An unlicensed driver has pleaded guilty to fleeing police in a chase that ended with the man plowing into a Minneapolis playground and injuring three young siblings last month.

Kabaar Powell
This booking photo provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, in Minneapolis, shows Kabaar Powell. On Wednesday, June 13, 2018, prosecutors said Powell, an unlicensed driver who was being chased by state troopers, didn't slow down when he plowed through a basketball court, running over two children. Powell faces multiple charges.
Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP

Twenty-seven-year-old Kabaar Powell, of Richfield, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of fleeing an officer.

State troopers tried to stop Powell for speeding on Interstate 94 on June 11, but authorities say he tried to flee. He got off the highway, tore through tennis courts and smashed into the playground near Jenny Lind Elementary School on the city's north side, hitting young Kayden, Konnor and Lillianna Peltier.

A Department of Public Safety spokesperson says Powell hasn't had a valid driver's license since 2014.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 16. Powell's attorney did not immediately return a phone call for comment Wednesday.

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