MARSHALL, Minn. (WCCO) – The 38-year-old man arrested after a fatal crash in Starbuck, Minn. had a BAC of 0.351, according to a criminal complaint. The crash critically injured a Minnesota college basketball coach and killed his 5-month-old son.
Brad Bigler is currently in a South Dakota hospital, suffering from several broken ribs, an injured shoulder blade and a collapsed lung. He’s also grieving for his 5-month-old baby boy, Drake, who died.
Bigler’s wife, Heather, and her grandmother were also hurt in the crash. His two other children were in another car and were not injured.
The crash happened on Highway 29 and County Road 41 near Starbuck in western Minnesota. The family was on the way to a relative’s cabin.
According to the criminal complaint, Dana Schoen of Starbuck, crossed the center line into oncoming traffic on Highway 29, and crashed into the passenger side of the Bigler family’s SUV. The force of the collision sheared off the entire passenger side of the vehicle and forced the SUV into a ditch.
Police say Schoen was the only occupant of the Dodge truck that crashed into the Bigler’s SUV. Upon speaking to Schoen, police say they detected a strong odor of alcohol and noticed his eyes were bloodshot and watery, his speech was slurred and he was swaying.
Schoen told police he only had “a couple” of drinks. Authorities told him they would be administering a preliminary breath test, to which Schoen replied that he was going to “flunk.”
The preliminary breath test showed Schoen had a BAC of 0.351. He was arrested on scene.
Police found two empty Busch Light beer cans and four unopened Busch Light beer cans on the ground, next to the driver’s side of Schoen’s truck.
According to Schoen’s criminal history, he has a qualifying driving under the influence offense within the last 10 years.
