Affidavit: Driver on video call, drunk, when he caused chain reaction I-694 crash that killed couple
The call last nearly half an hour and continued past the moment of impact, according to court records. Luis E. Tipantuna Quinchiguano, a 32-year-old driver from Minneapolis, has been charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with a fatal crash on Interstate 694 that killed a couple in a car. The crash occurred on February 16 on I-694 near Snelling Avenue, killing Karin Leigh O'Connor, 74, and Curtis John O’Connor, 76, both of New Brighton, Minnesota. The driver, who was on a 28-minute video call when the crash occurred, was extremely drunk and had a blood alcohol content of 0.197, nearly 2½ times the legal time for driving in Minnesota. Quinchigguano and the semi's driver, Steven J. Silva, sustained noncritical injuries.
Được phát hành : 2 tháng trước qua Paul Walsh, Star Tribune trong Auto
A 32-year-old driver was on a video call and extremely drunk when he set off a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 694 that killed a couple in a car, according to newly filed court documents.
Luis E. Tipantuna Quinchiguano, of Minneapolis, remains held in lieu of $500,000 bail after being charged in Ramsey County District Court with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the three-vehicle wreck on Feb. 16 in Arden Hills on I-694 near Snelling Avenue that killed Karin Leigh O'Connor, 74, and Curtis John O'Connor, 76, both of New Brighton.
Tipantuna Quinchiguano was heading west on I-694 in his SUV about 8:45 a.m., when he swerved from the right lane to the left shoulder, overcorrected and spun out, crossed through a ditch and struck the O'Connors' car, the State Patrol said.
A westbound semitrailer truck then hit the car broadside. Tipantuna Quinchiguano and the semi's driver, 68-year-old Steven J. Silva, of Sunnyside, Wash., suffered noncritical injuries.
A search warrant affidavit made public Sunday disclosed that Tipantuna Quinchiguano was on a 28-minute video call that continued past the time of the collision, police learned from his brother, who was on the other end and later showed up at the scene.
The affidavit, which led to the State Patrol collecting data from Tipantuna Quinchiguano's phone, also revealed that Tipantuna Quinchiguano said in a text to his brother minutes after the crash, translated from Spanish to English read, "You already take me for being drunk."
A test of Tipantuna Quinchiguano's blood measured his blood alcohol content soon after the crash at 0.197, nearly 2½ times the legal time for driving in Minnesota.
A message was left with Tipantuna Quinchiguano's attorney Monday seeking a reaction to the charges. In the meantime, Tipantuna Quinchiguano is back in court on May 15.