Felony Charges Filed Against Drunken Driver
Several charges of criminal vehicular homicide have been filed against a 25-year-old Winona man who had been drinking before hitting a mini-van in Olmsted County, killing the van’s driver and three passengers.
It was the worst of at least nine fatal accidents that occurred in Minnesota over Memorial Day weekend. Together, 12 people died.
The driver who was charged in the Minnesota quadruple fatal accident was Christopher Frisch, whom the State Patrol said was intoxicated. Frisch told investigators he had been drinking and fell asleep behind the wheel before broadsiding the mini-van at the intersection of state highways 30 and 63. The crash killed Terry Milholland, 45, of Beecher, Ill.; his 5-week-old son, Raymond Milholland; Heidi Newell, 19, and Jarah Beers, 23, both of Rochester.
When someone dies in a Minnesota car wreck caused by the negligence of another, the spouse and next of kin can recover monetary damages under the state’s wrongful death law. And when someone dies in a drunk driver accident in Minnesota, the spouse and next of kin may have a claim for punitive damages.
The Minnesota fatal car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys have years of experience representing victims and survivors of serious motor vehicle crashes. When alcohol is involved in a crash, the firm investigates for possible dram shop claims against bars and other retailers who may have supplied alcohol to the drunken driver. Our lawyers know how to fight for fair compensation from all responsible parties, including money to cover a client’s pain and suffering. Over the years, Pritzker Olsen has collected tens of millions of dollars for crash victims and their next of kin.
According to a press release from the State Patrol, the four-day Memorial Day weekend was extremely busy for law enforcement personnel. Of the 12 people who died in crashes on public roads, 10 of the deaths were handled by state troopers.
The patrol said it responded to a total of 56 personal injury crashes, 212 property damage crashes and 497 driving complaints. Sixty-three individuals were arrested for driving while intoxicated and 11 were arrested on various narcotics charges, the press release said.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said it was the deadliest Memorial Day weekend for motor vehicle accidents since 1996, when 13 people died. Two of the people who died this year were female passengers on motorcycles.
For more information about Pritzker Olsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
Eleven lives lost in Memorial Day Weekend Highway Accidents
Felony charges of criminal vehicular operation are pending against a 25-year-old Winona man whom the State Patrol says was drunk when the vehicle he was driving broadsided a van, killing four people and critically injuring two others.
The accident Saturday was the worst of eight Minnesota fatal accidents that took place over Memorial Day weekend.
The State Patrol identified the driver in the Olmsted County van crash as Christopher S. Frisch. The people who died in the crash were driver Terry Milholland, 45, of Beecher, Ill., and passengers Heidi Newell, 19, and Jarah Beers, 23, both of Rochester, and Raymond Milholland, age and hometown unknown. The Star Tribune reported that two others were hospitalized with critical injuries: 2-year-old Carter Newell of Rochester and Rita Seha, 43, also of Rochester.
The collision reportedly happened late Saturday at the intersection of state highways 63 and 30.
When someone dies in a Minnesota car wreck caused by the negligence of another, the spouse and next of kin can recover monetary damages under the state’s wrongful death law. And when someone dies in a drunk driver accident in Minnesota, the spouse and next of kin may have a claim for punitive damages.
Minnesota-based Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is a nationally recognized law firm that has the resources to perform its own accident investigations. When alcohol is involved in a crash, the firm researches dram shop claims against bars and other retailers who supplied alcohol to the drunken driver. Our lawyers know how to fight for fair compensation from all responsible parties, including money to cover a client’s pain and suffering.
Pritzker Olsen has recovered tens of millions of dollars for victims of motor vehicle accidents that cause serious injury and death, including Minnesota motorcycle accidents. The number of fatal motorcycle accidents in the state has been on the rise.
The Minnesota traffic deaths this weekend included two passenger on motorcycles. One motorcycle was struck by a car on Highway 371 in Cass County. The car was northbound when it braked to avoid hitting another vehicle ahead. Then, according to reports in the Star Tribune, the car swerved into the southbound lane and struck the motorcycle head-on. A couple from Oak Grove, Minnesota, was on the bike.
According to the State Patrol, 59-year-old Judy Hubers died from her injuries. John Hubers, 51, was taken to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale. On Monday, Mr. Hubers remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Another six people were killed over the weekend in six separate accidents in Carver County, Fillmore County, Dakota County, Wright County, Olmsted County and Aitkin.
According to the Star Tribune, one of the six was motorcycle passenger Amber Frandup, 25, of Eagan. She died when the motorcycle she was riding on crashed into the back of a car on the Mendota Bridge in Dakota County.
To contact a Minnesota car accident lawyer or motorcycle accident lawyer at Pritzker Olsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
Our professional lives are dedicated to upholding the constitutional rights of our clients including the right to trial by jury. We believe that wrongdoers and their insurance companies should be held accountable for the harms and losses they cause and the families of injury victims should be fairly compensated for the damages they suffer.
Minnesota Car Accident Death Results in Criminal Charges
A 66-year-old man from Crosslake, Minnesota, has been charged with felony criminal vehicular homicide in the death of 3-year-old Jack Larson.
According to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Department, traffic on County Road 3 in Merrifield had stopped for Jack and other boys and girls to cross the street on Saturday. Sherman Frederick passed the stopped vehicles on the shoulder and his van struck Jack as he was crossing the road. The boy, who was reportedly on a visit to see his grandparents, died at the scene.
Additional charges filed against Frederick include reckless driving and failure to provide proof of insurance.
Car Accident Death
When someone dies in a Minnesota car accident due to the negligence of another, the spouse and next of kin can recover monetary damages for the car accident death under Minnesota Statutes, section 573. Under the statute, damages are limited to financial loss resulting from the death.
But there is a provision for punitive damages when there is deliberate disregard for the rights or safety of others.
If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident, call the Minnesota car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. The firm is nationally recognized and represents clients in Minnesota and throughout the United States. To contact a car accident lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
Pedestrian Injured Badly By Car
The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office and State Patrol are investigating a Minnesota car-pedestrian accident that left a 62-year-old Mounds View man seriously injured.
WCCO-TV reported that the accident happened about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in Spring Lake Park. The man, James Miller, was walking with a companion on the side of a service road along the 1600 block of County Road 10. The collision occurred in front of Oak Crest Senior Community Center, the station reported.
Mr. Miller was struck by a vehicle driven by a 30-year-old man. WCCO-TV reported that the man initially was taken into custody but there was no evidence that he had been drinking.
The injured man was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition on Sunday. His companion on the walk, Grant Bergstrom, 61, of Minneapolis, suffered minor injuries.
If you or somone you know are looking for a Minnesota car accident lawyer, call Pritzker Olsen attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or write to us online for a free case consultation.
The firm’s lawyers have extensive experience in motor vehicle accident cases and have received numerous accolades, including selection by their peers as The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers.
Minnesota Fatal Accidents Haven’t Slowed
If the current rate of motor vehicle fatalities in Minnesota holds, the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) is projecting 440 Minnesota road deaths for 2009.
If true, the results would be in line with the number of Minnesota traffic fatalities last year — 456.
In a press release this week, DPS said 104 people have died in Minnesota road accidents through May 4, including six pedestrians and three motorcyclists. In 2008, the state hit the 100-fatality milestone on April 23.
Cheri Marti, director of the DPS’ Office of Traffic Safety, noted that the 2009 tally would be lower if more people wore seat belts. She estimated that 700,000 Minnesotans do not wear seat belts.
Of eight traffic deaths statewide in April, for instance, five who died were not wearing seat belts, the DPS said.
“These fatal crashes involving unbelted motorists serve as a wake-up call,” Marti said in the press release. “Whatever your excuse is for not buckling up, these crashes demonstrate an excuse won’t help you when you are involved in a crash.”
Minnesota car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen have represented car accident victims and survivors for decades. Our attorneys are highly visible in the legal community as frequent speakers on car accident injuries, including traumatic brain injury.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a car crash, a Minnesota car accident lawyer at Pritzker Olsen can be readily reached by calling 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or by completing one of our free online case consultation forms.
Postal Service Truck Injures 4 In Car
Four people were seriously injured Sunday night in downtown Minneapolis after a U.S. Postal Service truck apparently broadsided a car.
Minneapolis police say the car was carrying five people when the crashed occurred about 9 p.m.at Fifth Avenue South and South Fourth Street. The truck driver, who was the only occupant of the truck, received minor injuries, police told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
No additional information about the crash was available.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, call the Minnesota car accident lawyers at Pritzer Olsen attorneys. The firm has recovered millions of dollars for accident victims and has the resources to do its own investigation of serious accidents.
To contact Pritzker Olsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete a free case consultation form online.
St. Paul Pedestrian Accident Is Fatal For Tot
A tragic accident on the East Side of St. Paul has killed a 3-year-old girl whom police say was trying to cross the street to reach her father.
Fire Department spokesman Steve Zacard told the Star Tribune newspaper that the girl, Mai Yer Moua, was struck by a pickup truck in the 900 block of Rose Avenue East about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The little girl died at St. Paul Regions Hospital.
St. Paul Police spokesman Peter Panos said the driver of the pickup truck was badly shaken, but early reports did not include details of how the St. Paul car accident death happened.
According to the most recent edition of Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s annual Crash Facts report, Minnesota pedestrian deaths and injuries were higher in 2007 than they were in any of the previous three years.1
According to a breakdown of Crash Facts by Pritzker Olsen attorneys, a leading personal injury law firm in Minnesota, 30 percent of motor vehicle drivers in pedestrian crashes in 2007 were described by the reporting officers as failing to yield the right of way.
In another 24 percent of cases, the reporting officers said drivers were inattentive or distracted at the time of the accident. In half of the injury and death pedestrian crashes in 2007, the motor vehicle was going straight ahead at the time of the accident.
Minnesota has a no-fault insurance law, but when someone dies in a car accident due to the negligence of another, next of kin can recover monetary damages.
Attorney Fred Prtizker, founder and president of Pritzker Olsen, has more than 30 years of experience and has recovered millions of dollars for accident victims. If you or somone you know needs an attorney in connection with a Minnesota car or pedestrian accident, call Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete one of our free case consultation forms online.
The Minnesota car accident lawyers at Pritzker Olsen have the resources to conduct their own investigations of serious accidents. They represent injured victims and surviving family members in St. Paul, Minneapolis and throughout the state.
1Statewide in 2007, there were a total of 957 crashes in which a Minnesota pedestrian was injured or killed. 33 pedestrians were killed.
