No Felony Charges For Driver In St. Paul's 1st Pedestrian Death Of The Year

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Police consider it an epidemic in St. Paul, with 75 pedestrians struck by cars so far this year, but charging the drivers for doing anything wrong is a challenge.

This week, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office declined to file felony charges against the driver who hit and killed Shelby Kokesch, 24. She died in March after being hit in the crosswalk leaving the Minnesota History Center with her mom.

In six months, three women have died in St. Paul crosswalks. Kokesch was the first, walking across Kellogg at Mulberry on a rainy night with her mom. A car in the right lane stopped to let them cross. An SUV in the left did not.

The investigation found the driver didn't see her, wasn't drinking, doing drugs, speeding or using his phone. It's why Ramsey County Attorney John Choi says it doesn't meet the standard to file felony charges.

"This person was cooperative with the police," Choi said. "From our perspective we just have to follow the law."

Minnesota law says a crash requires gross negligence -- a conscious disregard to use reasonable care which is likely to harm someone else. It's most often seen in drunk driving crashes.

"Gross negligence is a really, really high standard to charge under," Choi said.

Recent law changes in the state give prosecutors more power. Even if a person won't face a felony, they could still be charged with a gross misdemeanor and spend a year in jail. An option not available before.

But Choi believes it's time people pay attention before a case makes it this far. Following the law that says painted crosswalk or not, drivers must stop for pedestrians. That's something we found drivers still weren't doing in the spot where Shelby died.

"Your car can be a deadly instrument that can kill someone. You have a responsibility to pay attention," Choi said.

The St. Paul city attorney now expects to review this case. That office will decide if the driver will face something like careless driving or failure to yield to a pedestrian, which carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail.

St. Paul's two other deadly pedestrian crashes have yet to be presented to Choi's office for possible felony charges. According to St. Paul police statistics, about 30 percent of the drivers who hit either a walker or biker was cited at the scene so far this year.