MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to a hit-and-run crash that killed one person and severely injured two others, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Eugene Farrell, 62, specifically pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation in connection to the Dec. 18, 2011, incident.
According to the State Patrol, the incident involved two crashes. The initial crash happened around 11 p.m., when a pickup truck driven by Marcus Andary merged onto westbound Interstate 94 and ran into another car on the highway, causing that car to lose control and roll, partially blocking the left lane of the road.
Andary and a witness, 37-year-old Keith Barnes of Minneapolis, went to help the rolled-over car’s driver, 22-year-old Alicia Kaufenberg of St. Paul. Soon after, the second crash happened: An alleged drunk driver crashed his van into Kaufenberg’s car, hitting both Andary and Barnes.
Andary, an Iowa State student, died instantly. Barnes and Kaufenberg were severely injured.
The driver of the van, Farrell, allegedly thought he ran over a bumper from the accident, so he stopped and checked his car a short distance away. He then traveled home.
Video footage showed that 1 minute and 40 seconds passed during the two collisions, and there were several vehicles on the side of the road with emergency flashers activated before the second collision. Farrell’s car did not brake until a split second before the collision, the complaint said.
Farrell has one previous careless driving conviction on her record from May 2005 in Dakota County.
Andary was a high school hockey standout in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., where he graduated in 2008. Andary went on to play hockey at Iowa State. His friends and former teammates are currently mourning his death.
Barnes’ neck was broken in two places, his shoulder and both legs were also broken. Doctors had to amputate his left leg below the calf. Kaufenberg also had to have limbs amputated as a result of the collision.
Ferrell’s sentencing is set for June 14 at 9 a.m.
