9-1-1 Transcript released from McHenry teen death

MCHENRY, N.D. (KFYR)- The 9-1-1 call from the man who allegedly hit and killed an 18-year-old in McHenry last summer during a street dance has been released.

The transcript from Shannon Brandt’s emergency September 18 call shows his efforts to get first responders to the scene where Cayler Ellingson was laying in the street with injuries to his chest that would eventually kill him.

The transcript includes Brandt’s explanation of what led up to the incident. It reads: “Well, it was a dance in here and he-- it’s hard to explain. I was trying to escape him. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He got on my vehicle and I couldn’t get him away from me.”

Brandt now faces a murder charge and a charge of duty in an accident involving injury in Foster County. He has entered a not guilty pleas on both charges.

The transcript from the 9-1-1 call also shows Brandt claimed he was trying to get away from Ellingson before the crash.

“I couldn’t get him away from me, and he was threatening me,” he told a 9-1-1 operator. “He was saying something about some republican extremist group, saying “I thought he was part of us.” He was calling other guys to come get me. And I, I couldn’t get out of town. And I just wanted to get out of here. I was scared. I, I never meant to hurt him. I just wanted to get out of here.”

Brandt has admitted to drinking before the incident, though he was not charged with a DUI. He tells the dispatcher he could provide first aid to Ellingson, but he is advised to wait for first responders.

See the transcript here.

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