A motorist was nearly two times the legal limit to drive and did not slow down when he hit a 72-year-old woman at 40 mph Thursday afternoon in a White Bear Township crosswalk, according to charges filed Friday.
Christopher Ronald Olson, 46, left the scene — telling police that he panicked — but turned himself in to White Bear Lake police about 20 minutes after the incident, which happened around 4:22 p.m. at the intersection of White Bear Parkway and Birch Lake Boulevard at the township’s border with White Bear Lake.
Christopher Ronald Olson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Olson, of White Bear Lake, is scheduled to go before a Ramsey County judge on Friday on three counts of criminal vehicular homicide — one each for operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner while intoxicated, having an alcohol concentration 0.08 or more within two hours of driving and causing an accident and then leaving the scene.
Olson was convicted of DWI in 2009 and 2012, both out of Ramsey County, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint, witnesses told authorities other vehicles had stopped for the woman as she was making her way across White Bear Parkway in a marked crosswalk. She made it halfway across the road when the driver of a Kia Telluride SUV hit her without slowing down or braking, and then fled.
The woman flew 30 yards in the air and hit the pavement, rolling several times on her side, witnesses said. She died at the scene.
About 20 minutes later, Olson arrived at the White Bear Lake Police Department with his mother and admitted that he had struck a pedestrian.
Olson smelled of alcohol and slurred his words. He performed poorly on field-sobriety tests, showing poor balance throughout them. During the one-leg-stand test, he said, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that” and added, “I’ve had something to drink, I’ve admitted it,” the complaint states.
Olson registered a 0.14 BAC on a preliminary breath test. The legal limit to drive in Minnesota is 0.08.
Later, in an interview with investigators, Olson admitted to drinking four “shooter” bottles of vodka after work, the complaint says. He said he was driving northbound on White Bear Parkway with his cruise control at 40 mph, which is the posted speed limit in the area. He said he was not paying attention and he hit a person crossing the road.
Olson said he left the scene because he panicked and drove to his mother’s house. She convinced him to go to the police station.
Olson acknowledged that he is prescribed Trazodone, an anti-depressant, and Clonazepam for anxiety. He also admitted to taking “a gummy or two” before bed. He said he does not combine the medications with alcohol.
A judge granted a search warrant to draw Olson’s blood for testing. The samples were drawn at about 7:30 p.m., and the analysis is pending.
Officers found a loaded handgun in the glove box of Olson’s SUV. He does have a permit to carry. At 8:20 p.m., four hours after the crash, he submitted to a second breath test, related to his gun permit. His BAC was 0.08, the complaint says.
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