MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A St. Paul woman charged in a weekend hit-and-run that killed a college freshman struck the victim twice, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, first sending him flying into the air and then hitting him after he landed on the ground.
Teisha Yovonne Randle, 27, faces two felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide in Saturday’s crash in Minneapolis that fatally injured 20-year-old Austin Conley.
The criminal complaint says Randle told police she heard a loud crash and that her windshield “exploded.” She said she thought someone threw a rock at her car and she kept driving, according to the complaint.
Randle was in custody Tuesday, but had not made an initial court appearance. It was not immediately clear if she had an attorney.
Conley, a student at Augsburg College, was in a crosswalk early Saturday when he was struck by a dark Chevrolet Lumina and dragged about a third of a block. According to dispatch records, the person who called 911 kept saying “the car was going 90 and hit this guy. I think he’s dead.”
Emergency responders found Conley bleeding from his ears and nonresponsive. He died at a hospital.
Witnesses told police they were crossing the street with a walk signal when Conley was hit. They said the car never slowed down and headed to a nearby freeway entrance ramp. At least one witness said the vehicle was swerving through traffic.
The complaint said Randle told officers she had been celebrating a birthday at Imperial Room in Minneapolis and was driving about 40 mph through the area where Conley was hit. After hearing the loud crash, she said she kept driving until she got to a nearby interstate exit ramp, according to the complaint.
She told police she left her car there and called her boyfriend for a ride, the complaint said. But when officers went to the exit ramp, they did not find the car. They later found the vehicle in her garage with extensive windshield and hood damage.
The car will be examined further.
Besides going to college, Conley worked at Seven Sushi in downtown Minneapolis. His sister has said he was a deeply caring person who never judged others.
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