St. Paul, MN : Drunken driver crashed into Zimmerman business, killing 1 on Wednesday, September 13, 2017

A man who was hospitalized in critical condition died Wednesday after a suspected drunken driver crashed his SUV into a northwest metro business earlier in the week.

Dan Elliott, 51, was working at Reliant Systems in Zimmerman on Monday when 63-year-old Robert Allen Johnson plowed through the building’s wall in his Chevy Tahoe, which traveled 30 to 40 feet into the building.

Elliott was found by law enforcement unconscious with his head underneath the driver’s side tire of the SUV, according to criminal charges filed against Johnson in Sherburne County District Court.

Elliott, of Hamburg, was flown by air ambulance to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he died. Three other people were hospitalized as well, according to the Sherburne County sheriff’s office.

Johnson, who has two drunken driving convictions on his record, took a Breathalyzer test at the scene, where his blood-alcohol content was 0.10. The legal limit for driving in Minnesota in 0.08.

Johnson told a sheriff’s deputy he had at least two drinks at the American Legion before leaving the bar. Officers found a nearly empty bottle of whiskey in his center console, according to the criminal complaint.

Johnson told authorities that his accelerator stuck when he crashed into the building, but an investigator pushed down on both the brake and accelerator, and both appeared to be working properly.

Johnson was charged Wednesday with four counts of criminal vehicular operation and a single count of drunken driving. On Thursday, he was charged with criminal vehicular homicide in light of Elliott’s death.

Anoka resident Kim Ann Mills, 47, was taken by air ambulance to North Memorial. She was in critical condition Thursday, according to the hospital. The other two victims were 47-year-old Heidi Jo Olerich and 44-year-old Wayne Milano, both of Zimmerman.

Source :
Drunken driver crashed into Zimmerman business, killing 1