Nerf Wars blamed in New Hope crash that injured 2
NEW HOPE, Minn. (KMSP) - New Hope police say students from Armstrong High School were playing Nerf Wars at the time of a car crash that sent two people to the hospital Monday night. Police estimate 100 Armstrong students are involved in this spring's Nerf Wars game.
"What was meant to be an innocent and fun game has turned into something else entirely,” said New Hope Police Chief Tim Fournier.
Police responded to the crash at 46th Avenue and Winnetka Avenue at about 9:12 p.m. Monday. They said it appeared two vehicles were chasing each other through the intersection before striking a power pole and damaging nearby yards and property.
Two people in their 20s in one vehicle were transported to North Memorial and were “doing fine” Monday night, police said. They were not involved in the game, but simply innocent victims, said Goldstein.
The two in the other vehicle were not injured. Their identities are not being released while the investigation is underway.
The Minnesota State Patrol is reconstructing the crash and police are interviewing witnesses. Once that information has been gathered, police will consider appropriate charges.
Armstrong High School Principal David Dahl says they believe the game was organized by a student and 100 students were involved in the game.
“The game, I believe, was created on a Twitter page. That’s how students were notified, so we were able to get that student and the message out--on the Twitter page-- that the game was over,” said Dahl.
Last December, two Lakeville South students – Jake Flynn and Johnny Price – died in a rollover crash. There were no witnesses to the crash, but Dakota County sheriff’s investigators said the accident was a direct result of a Nerf Wars game that began at school. Nerf Wars is a game in which teams shoot foam darts to “kill” opponents on other teams in an effort to win prize money.
“Lakeville is still on everybody’s mind and certainly no one wants that to happen,” said New Hope Police Chief Tim Fournier.
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