On Wed, April 28, 2021, Golden Valley Police (GVPD) Officer Kyle Toavs was on medical call in Golden Valley when he noticed a vehicle pass by him that matched the description of a vehicle involved in a hit and run earlier that day in the neighboring community of Plymouth, MN.
A few hours earlier, the Plymouth Police Department responded to a hit and run crash where a pedestrian and dog were struck. The dog died at the scene, while the pedestrian was transported by ambulance to the hospital and later died from his injuries.
Officers had very little information available at the crime scene and there were no witnesses. The only potential clues were a few pieces of plastic car parts that broke off during the impact with the pedestrian. With those minor clues, Plymouth Police were able to take the serial number from those car parts and link them to an Acura TL. This information was passed along to neighboring agencies, including the GVPD.
Two hours later and approximately nine miles away, Toavs saw a vehicle matching the description of the suspected hit and run vehicle pass by him and noticed the vehicle had damage to the front. He left the medical call and pursued the vehicle.
"Officer Toavs made a traffic stop on this car and found that the people inside the car were very nervous," said Chief Scott Nadeau.
Toavs also noticed biological evidence on the car near the damage, which suggested this was the vehicle responsible for striking the pedestrian.
For his performance of an outstanding police act in stopping a vehicle associated with a vehicular homicide, which resulted in the collection of critical evidence, Toavs was presented the GVPD’s Departmental Commendation at the Dec 7, 2021 Golden Valley City Council meeting.
See image (from L to R: Officer Kyle Toavs and Commander Alice White)