WILLMAR, Minn. (AP) — A 51-year-old Minnesota man has pleaded not guilty to charges of speeding in an October crash that killed two people, including a Norwegian appeals court judge.

The West Central Tribune reports that Randall Twardy of Eden Valley entered the not guilty pleas to two misdemeanor charges by mail Wednesday.

Sixty-three-year-old Judge Jan Martin Flod died at the scene of the crash east of Spicer. His passenger, 51-year-old Tove Sleppen also from Norway, died at the hospital the next day.

Flod had been visiting from Norway on a sabbatical. He was on his way to watch a hearing and observe Kandiyohi County Judge Donald Spilseth’s courtroom. The two judges had become friends years earlier.

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