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Man Charged In Hit-And-Run That Killed 10-Year-Old Girl

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Hastings man faces charges in the hit-and-run collision earlier this month that killed a 10-year-old girl in Aitkin County.

Steven Lee Meier, 44, faces two counts of criminal vehicular homicide -- one for leaving the scene and another for not notifying law enforcement – in connection to the June 10 incident near Mille Lacs Lake that led to the death of Caylin Donovan.

According to a criminal complaint, the girl was fatally struck and died on Highway 18 in Wealthwood Township. State Patrol investigators didn't find any vehicle parts near the site of the collision, leading them to believe Donovan had been hit by a trailer. Authorities say it's likely the girl was sitting on the highway's shoulder, picking up rocks when the collision occurred.

Two days after Donovan's death, witness statements and gas station video led investigators to a campsite at Myr-Mar Marina, where they met Meier. He had a Jeep Cherokee and a boat with a trailer. He denied knowing anything about the hit-and-run, the complaint states. When investigators noticed damage on the passenger's side of his trailer, he told authorities it was from when a tire blew and wrapped around the wheel well.

Meier's companion, Deborah Chandler, who was driving a different truck with a camper, also denied knowing anything about the hit-and-run.

After further investigation, troopers met with Meier and Chandler again at their home in Hastings. There, Meier said that he didn't remember hitting anything. Chandler, however, said that she thought she saw a deer on the side of the road when traveling behind Meier's truck, but upon getting closer, she realized that it was a body. She admitted to not calling 911 and to feeling "horrible" for not stopping. She also said she felt guilty for lying to troopers earlier, the complaint states.

A search warrant executed on Meier's trailer found it had Donovan's DNA on it. The search also found obvious signs of wiping and scrubbing, but only on the side of the trailer where Donovan would have been hit.

Both Chandler and Meier were arrested on Monday.

If convicted of both charges, Meier faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each count.

Charges have yet to come down for Chandler.

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