CRYSTAL, Minn. – Police responding to a report of an Elvis impersonator down with convulsions at a veterans hall soon found themselves in a high-speed chase — of a man dressed as a Blues Brother.
"Man, just when I thought that I had seen everything in this business, you realize you haven't scratched the surface," Capt. Dave Oyaas said Tuesday.
According to Oyaas:
Officers were called about 11 a.m. Monday to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (search) hall in this Twin Cities suburb, where they found a man dressed as Elvis on the ground outside. He appeared to be in convulsions.
When the officers arrived, the man stopped, jumped up and yelled "Viva Las Vegas!" and began singing show tunes.
"It's one of those things that you stop and scratch your head, and you think that 'Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?'" Oyaas said.
At about the same time, two women who were with the impersonator said another man dressed as John Belushi's character in "The Blues Brothers" had stolen their Pontiac Sunbird (search) and driven to a nearby commuter airport.
The officers found the man in the car parked between two hangars. That prompted a chase in and out of hangars and runways that reached speeds of 75 mph. Officers finally forced the car to spin out and arrested the man, who suffered a cut on his head.
The men were taken to a hospital for medical exams, and afterward were taken to sober up in the Crystal jail, where the Elvis impersonator (search) sang "Jailhouse Rock" for officers, said Oyaas.
Elvis, 27, was sent home, but the 47-year-old Belushi impersonator, who had a canceled driver's license, was being held Tuesday pending formal charges that could include fleeing police and drunken driving.
Oyaas said the Elvis impersonator could be charged with disorderly conduct.
The men had been drinking together at the VFW before police arrived. Blood tests will show how much, but Oyaas said, "I would venture to say quite a bit."
Elvis — his real name is Terrence Schulz, 27, of Anoka — told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he had not been drinking Monday night, but "Belushi" had.
Schulz said he fell because he was out of breath from running to catch up with "Belushi," who had left the bar without him.
Upon hearing the sirens arriving for Schulz, "Belushi" took off in a friend's car, Schulz said.
Sue Nabors, a VFW waitress who saw what happened, said the impersonators know each other and often sing at local lounges.
She said Elvis "is a good Elvis singer" and "Belushi" "sings, too," but "not as often, and not as good."
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